The South Korean government signed six agreements, including a strategic investment agreement between Samsung Electronics and French artificial intelligence (AI) firm MistralAI, during President Lee Jae-myung's state visit to France on September 8 (local time).
The core of the agreement involves Samsung participating as a strategic investor in MistralAI and jointly developing a proprietary in-house AI model that protects key semiconductor know-how. MistralAI raised a total of 3 billion euros (approximately 4.7 trillion won) in a Series D funding round led by Samsung, achieving a post-investment valuation of over 21 billion euros (about 32.8 trillion won). The specific investment amount and equity stake held by Samsung have not been disclosed.
During the visit, President Lee held a summit with President Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée Palace, discussing ways to expand cooperation in advanced technology, industry and trade, defense and military, space and nuclear energy, and culture. Following the summit, they participated in a ceremony to exchange agreements and memorandums of understanding (MOUs) and held a joint press conference to announce the outcomes of their discussions. President Lee also attended a Korea-France business roundtable at the Marigny Guesthouse, where he discussed trade, investment expansion, and new industry cooperation with business leaders from both countries.
This agreement marks the first tangible outcome of the AI, semiconductor, and quantum cooperation memorandum signed by the two countries in April.
Additionally, the two nations signed an MOU in the fields of AI, semiconductors, and quantum technology. This agreement will support joint research and development projects between researchers and startups, attract investments in AI and quantum fields, and facilitate exchanges and business opportunities between semiconductor companies and research institutions.
Intellectual property cooperation has also been expanded from existing examination collaboration to include sharing AI examination standards and best practices, as well as intellectual property financing and commercialization. In the cultural sector, both countries agreed to enhance exchanges in the cultural creation industry, joint investments, and cooperation between cultural and artistic institutions and cultural heritage.
In the security and defense sector, a protocol to amend the military secret information protection agreement was signed to enhance the stability and reliability of military information exchanges. The amendment to the aviation agreement, which has been under negotiation for about a decade, includes principles for fair competition, security and safety enhancement, and sustainable aviation cooperation.
In the energy sector, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power and France's Orano agreed to pursue long-term enrichment service supply based on new enrichment facilities. This aims to proactively secure supply chains in the West and diversify sources for nuclear fuel supply.
During the visit, agreements were also signed in areas such as public safety, biotechnology, plant science, quantum and AI-based new drug development, and exchanges between universities and basic science. The two countries also agreed to expedite the signing of a mutual logistics support agreement.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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