The American scale-up has many key positions occupied by French researchers and engineers. A singularity which can be explained by several factors.
But why are there so many French people at OpenAI? Because the arrival of Fiji Simo, former CEO of Instacart, as director of the company’s operations masks a broader phenomenon: whether they are researchers, engineers or executives, the French are among the nationalities most represented in strategic positions in the company. A French touch that intrigues but owes nothing to chance.
Key positions under French management
The French concentration at OpenAI is not an anecdote. It crosses all strata of the organization: from fundamental research with Sébastien Bubeck (research lead) to product interfaces driven by Olivier Godement (head of product, API platform), through the developer experience coordinated by Romain Huet (known and recognized by the majority of developers) alongside Katia Gil Guzman (key member of the developer experience team) with Adrien Ecoffet (researcher). Without forgetting Sarah Conlonhead of financial engineering.
The French presence extends to public policies, where three French people structure OpenAI’s European strategy: Martin Signoux (AI policy lead Europe), Julie Lavet (EMEA Director of Institutional Relations) and Ludovic Peran (policy research). Finally, even more telling, French Arnaud Fournier, based in Paris, is responsible for a team dedicated to the development of OpenAI products in conjunction with the company’s partners (Forward Deployed Engineers). A squad of engineers composed mainly of profiles from the OpenAI Paris office.
The French AI diaspora
But how did OpenAI manage to recruit so much talent from France? The answer lies, according to our information, in two explanations. The first is classically the excellence of French training, but also of its volume. Whether it is Polytechnique, CentraleSupélec, Télécom Paris, ENS, or even Mines Paris, each year, French major schools and universities produce an exceptional pool of researchers and engineers with a very strong mathematical focus: a rare talent pool on a global scale.
More than their theoretical knowledge, it is also the French creative spirit which is sought by a number of artificial intelligence companies including OpenAI, explains a well-informed source. French talents stand out for their ability to combine demanding mathematical training and interdisciplinary openness, making them particularly comfortable in the transition between fundamental research and operational implementation, our source further advances.
Numerous and well-trained profiles, who often choose to emigrate to play all their cards abroad, where we know how to pay for excellence. The French tech diaspora has, in fact, ended up becoming the best asset… of American companies. By maintaining close ties between former graduates, it now facilitates the departure of young French engineers to Silicon Valley, reinforcing a virtuous circle for the AI ecosystem around San Francisco. A French touch which infuses directly into OpenAI, in particular on the uses and discussions around strategic choices within the Old Continent, according to elements that we have been able to collect.
OpenAI is banking on France
OpenAI fully embraces this French tropism and intends to amplify it. “What is quite interesting is that we have a lot of French people at OpenAI, at all seniority levels. In my team in particular, we have a lot of them, in the United States as in France. It’s not a coincidence, it’s linked to the quality of the talents and the training that we have in France”, confirms Arnaud Fournier. The company sees France as a stable pool of rare skills and a natural gateway to Europe. And Arnaud Fournier added: “The Paris office has become a technical mini-hub for us. It’s easier to integrate profiles and develop them. France will naturally become an important hub for OpenAI, particularly on the technical side.”
For the engineers and researchers concerned, a stint at OpenAI constitutes an unparalleled career accelerator: exposure to cutting-edge projects, international recognition, and above all a considerable prestige effect on the CV. Enough to maximize their value on the market, whether to bounce back to another tech giant, raise funds for a startup, or negotiate premium conditions elsewhere. A formidable springboard which, paradoxically, also fuels the brain drain.
