The Caisse des Dépôts group has unveiled an agreement with Mistral AI aimed at deploying AI tools and reinforcing a sovereign, responsible, and trusted approach to digital technology.
The contract covers access to AI services, advisory expertise, and computing capacity. It forms part of a structured framework agreement built around two pillars: deploying generative AI solutions and acquiring computing power, notably through GPUs (Graphics Processing Units).
Generative AI and computing power
Nineteen subsidiaries* of the Caisse des Dépôts group have come together under a centralized procurement mechanism, with the goal of sharing resources and supporting a European technological offering.
For Olivier Sichel, the group’s chief executive, this commitment responds to a strategic issue: “Digital sovereignty is one of the strategic challenges our country must face. Supporting our tech companies has become a crucial mission that must be backed by procurement, especially public procurement.”
The Caisse des Dépôts group plans a gradual rollout of use cases. In the initial phase, nearly 40,000 licenses for generative AI are to be distributed to teams, with a long-term objective that could reach 100,000 users over the duration of the contract.
The arrangement also includes the creation of an “AI Factory,” conceived as an internal accelerator to industrialize the use of artificial intelligence for the benefit of the group’s entities, but also for public actors and regional communities.
Up to 100,000 users targeted
The stated ambition is to facilitate access to market technologies while ensuring several criteria: sovereignty of the solutions, regulatory compliance, economic performance, and operational flexibility.
This agreement sits within the strategic plan “Digital Horizon 2030” championed by the Caisse des Dépôts. The program aims to accelerate the digital transformation of the French and European economies while strengthening technological sovereignty.
With a budget of €18 billion by 2030, the plan is aligned with the group’s mission of general interest, focused on supporting major transitions and the long-term preparation of digital infrastructures and public services.
*Caisse Des Dépôts / AGR / Bpi France SA and subsidiaries (Bpi Financement and Bpi Investissement) / CDC Biodiversité / Cdc Investissement Immobilier / CDC Placement / CNP Assurances / Compagnie des Alpes / Docaposte / Geopost / GIE Systèmes d’Information et Numérique (Groupe CDC Habitat) / Icade / Informatique CDC / La Banque Postale (Lbp) / La Poste SA / Scet / Sfil / Stoa / Tonus Territoire