Why Paris may be the most important AI city outside Silicon Valley

Paris is emerging as a major global AI hub, rivaling Silicon Valley, driven by French AI startups like Mistral AI, growing domestic scaling ambitions among European founders, and events like VivaTech. The city is becoming a convergence point for policymakers, investors, enterprise leaders, and researchers shaping the next era of AI. VivaTech 2026, marking its 10th anniversary, will spotlight this shift with a focus on AI infrastructure, cybersecurity, and enterprise deployment. TechCrunch has partnered with VivaTech for an Innovation of the Year competition tied to Startup Battlefield 200 and TechCrunch Disrupt 2026.