On October 5, 2025, France inaugurated its new defense supercomputer, ASGARD, at Mont Valérien. This initiative follows the 2024 Draghi report, which highlighted the lag between Europe, and particularly France, and the United States and China in the field of artificial intelligence.
The Draghi report: a wake-up call
In September 2024, Mario Draghi, former president of the European Central Bank, submitted a report to the European Commission highlighting Europe’s significant lag in AI development. The United States and China are investing heavily in computing infrastructure, while Europe is struggling to keep up. Despite its ambitions, France is not immune to this trend.
The report emphasized the lack of high-performance computing capabilities, which are essential for training next-generation AI models. With American tech giants multiplying their data centers and China investing heavily, Europe risks becoming dependent on technologies developed elsewhere, jeopardizing its digital sovereignty.
This is why France has decided to act quickly, notably by inaugurating ASGARD, its new supercomputer.
ASGARD: a major technological investment
Located on the heights of Mont Valérien in Suresnes, ASGARD represents an investment of €120 million. This project is the result of a public-private partnership between the Ministerial Agency for Artificial Intelligence in Defense (AMIAD), HP Enterprise, and Orange.
Bertrand Rondepierre, director of AMIAD, said at the opening ceremony: “To make rapid progress in the field of AI, we need computing power.”
ASGARD, developed over three years, has more than 20,000 latest-generation graphics processors and offers a computing capacity of 100 petaflops. This power places the French army and intelligence services among the most efficient in Europe for training and inferring complex AI models.
The supercomputer is housed in a high-security data center certified by the French Ministry of Defense. HP Enterprise designed the hardware architecture dedicated to AI, while Orange provides high-speed network connectivity and power redundancy through its underground connections.
A response to global competition
ASGARD is part of a global context in which the performance of supercomputers must keep pace with the increasing complexity of AI models. Predictive modeling, AI-assisted cybersecurity, and tactical scenario simulation are strategic issues. It is therefore essential to have sufficient computing power to accelerate decision-making and ensure operational superiority.
The energy issue raised by the Draghi report has also been taken into account. A liquid immersion cooling system reduces electricity consumption by 30% compared to air cooling. Orange has set up a geothermal loop to use residual heat and limit the site’s environmental impact.
Bertrand Rondepierre emphasized the importance of collaboration between research, defense, and industry: « ASGARD is not only a military tool, but also a driver of innovation for the entire AI sector in France ».
Collaborations are already underway with the CNRS, the CEA, and several start-ups specializing in computer vision and automatic language processing. This approach is in line with the recommendations of the Draghi report, which encouraged closer ties between different sectors to maximize the return on investment.
Digital sovereignty: a long-term goal
Despite this investment, France still lags behind the world leaders. The United States and China are announcing new exascale machines, while ASGARD represents only a tenth of this power. France is counting on its public-private model to remain competitive. AMIAD plans to increase ASGARD’s power by 2027, targeting 200 petaflops, through regular processor upgrades and the integration of specialized quantum AI chips.
« Digital sovereignty cannot be decreed, it must be built », said Bertrand Rondepierre. With ASGARD, France is affirming its desire to master the computing power needed for the AI of tomorrow and to preserve its independence. In a world where computing capabilities have become a key factor of power, the battle for AI is only just beginning for Europe.
Sources :
- https://www.vktr.com/ai-technology/ai-supercomputers-in-2025-performance-power-sustainability-trends/VKTR.com
- https://epoch.ai/blog/trends-in-ai-supercomputers Epoch AI
- https://arxiv.org/html/2504.16026v1 arXiv+1
- https://arxiv.org/html/2509.07218v1arXiv+1
- https://www.cnrs.fr/en/press/jean-zay-supercomputer-france-has-increased-its-ai-dedicated-resources-fourfold
- https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2025/09/18/inside-the-worlds-most-powerful-ai-datacenter/
