Huawei to invest 35 million Euros in Paris OpenLab

Huawei said it will invest 35 million Euros in its Paris OpenLab over five years. Speaking at the VivaTech Conference in Paris, Huawei Deputy Chairman Ken Hu said the investment showed confidence that France was on the way to become a global innovation hub.

VivaTech, an annual technology conference held in Paris, runs from May 16 – 18 and this year is bringing together 100,000 representatives of the worlds of business, politics and academia from 125 countries and regions.

In a keynote speech titled "Our Shared Ambition", Hu shared how converging digital technologies are bringing revolutionary change, and highlighted that openness and collaboration is the only way to drive innovation forward. Hu announced that Huawei will invest 35 million euros into its OpenLab in France over the next five years, and will work together with customers and partners to build a stronger digital ecosystem in the country.

"This is the best time for innovation," Hu said. "Here in France, you've got world-leading basic research, so many talented people, and an innovation-friendly environment. France is in a great position to be a global hub for innovation. Huawei has been here for 17 years, and we are so proud to be part of this ambition."

Technologies like 5G, cloud, and AI are the main drivers of innovation, accelerating digital transformation across all industries. By 2025, there will be 100 billion connections around the world, all companies will use cloud, and 77% of cloud applications will be powered by AI. Hu remarked, "When these technologies are combined, there will be fundamental changes to all industries. These technologies will also reshape everything we are familiar with today," Hu explained.

According to Hu, mobile phones will reshape our personal digital experience. As personal computing centers, mobile phones will integrate more naturally with devices like tablets, PCs, TVs, and cars to form a more user-centric ecosystem, which will provide a seamless and more intuitive digital experience.

Smart cars will become mobile super computers and data centers, rather than just a means of transportation. Each car will have tens of millions of lines of code and terabytes of computing power. Software, hardware, and applications in cars will be able to be upgraded anytime, anywhere to completely refresh the user experience. Carmakers must to consider how to meet these evolving needs and create new value for their customers.

"It doesn't matter if you are a startup or an established business, you need to figure out how to maximize the potential of digital technologies and seize the opportunity to innovate," Hu added.

Hu went on to encourage cross-industry collaboration as the key to seizing new opportunities. “When it comes to innovation,” he said, "organizations need to do what they do best, and collaborate on the rest."

To this end, Huawei opened its Paris OpenLab in April 2018, providing a platform for experts from different industries to identify their future needs in digital transformation and to develop industry-specific solutions. In just one year, 50 partners worked on 15 industry solutions covering retail, manufacturing, and smart cities. Over the next five years, Huawei’s investment of 35 million Euros in its OpenLab in France will make it a stronger platform for cross-industry collaboration.

At this year's VivaTech, Huawei has set up an exhibition area of 390 square meters to demonstrate innovative solutions in 5G, cloud, smart retailing, and connected cars. In addition, Huawei has worked with 32 French startups to demonstrate innovative solutions and success stories for smart cities, smart transportation, environmental protection, AI, and IoT.