NAIO hails France's Station F as model for startups, AI advancement
KUALA LUMPUR : France's vibrant startup ecosystem, exemplified by Station F, offers a compelling roadmap for Malaysia's artificial intelligence (AI) entrepreneurs, says the head of Malaysia's National Artificial Intelligence Office (NAIO).
Shamsul Izhan Abdul Majid said Station F, the world's largest startup facility located in the heart of Paris, boasts more than 1,000 startups, an installed presence of global venture capital and a deep corporate innovation network.
Inspired by this model, he said NAIO is building cross-border innovation pathways in sectors such as healthcare, transport, agriculture, education, public services and micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.
Speaking at the launch of the France-Malaysia Innovation Day 2025, Shamsul said France has set a new high bar in technology innovation, emphasising the government's commitment to continued collaboration and idea sharing between Malaysia and France.
'By reducing friction in cross-border research and development, we empower AI startups to thrive on both sides of the world.
'This is how AI diplomacy becomes real: with a focus on collaboration, shared governance and sector legal information that corresponds to the challenges of our time,' he said.
By connecting France's technological depth with Malaysia's talent, Shamsul said Malaysia is more than prepared to build inventions that are not only advanced but also adaptive, inclusive and human-centred.
'France's contributions to AI, engineering and cutting-edge research, from quantum machine learning to world-leading robotics, offer boundless avenues for joint collaboration.'
French ambassador to Malaysia Axel Cruau, who was also present at the event, affirmed Malaysia's role in spearheading digital innovation in Southeast Asia.
'With Malaysia's chairmanship of Asean this year, its push for the Asean Digital Economic Framework Agreement (Defa), and its organisation of Smart City Expo Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia is poised to position itself as a regional leader for innovation, digital transformation, and ethical AI use,' he said.
Defa, introduced at the 2023 Asean Economic Ministers' meeting in Indonesia, provides a vision of digital transformation committed to empowering Asean businesses in unlocking a borderless era of economic growth.
Cruau also reiterated France's commitment to supporting Malaysian tech startups through French Tech Malaysia, a French government initiative aimed at expanding the country's entrepreneurial ecosystem in Malaysia.
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