France buys supercomputer-maker Bull from Atos for €404M • The Register

The French authorities has lastly closed a deal to buy the Superior Computing property of tech large Atos, resulting in the re-emergence of an outdated business title: Bull.

Atos says it accomplished the sale of Bull to the French State in a transaction valued at as much as €404 million ($468 million).

That is lower than the €410 million ($475 million) provided by Paris final yr, because it now excludes Atos’s zData, a frontrunner in large information consulting and options. It is usually a lot lower than the €625 million ($724 million) previously floated, owing to the choice by Atos to exclude the Imaginative and prescient AI unit from the transaction.

Atos acquired Bull for €620 million again in 2014, however the French authorities decided to make an offer for those parts of the business when it appeared they may fall underneath the management of foreign-owned entities as a part of a restructuring course of.

The Superior Computing property thus comprise the Excessive-Efficiency Computing (HPC) and Quantum models, in addition to the Enterprise Computing & Synthetic Intelligence divisions. These will not be solely strategically necessary for the state, however generated income estimated at €700 million ($810 million) in fiscal yr 2025, in accordance with Atos, and have been beforehand a part of its Eviden subsidiary.

The supercomputing division, particularly, builds the systems that assist mannequin France’s nuclear protection capabilities.

The reborn Bull is sounding bullish on its prospects, saying that as an unbiased entity, it has higher agility and suppleness to reply to speedy shifts within the HPC, AI and infrastructure markets, whereas guaranteeing continuity for present companions and ecosystems.

Bull is eager to level out that its actions cowl the complete worth chain, from design and engineering to manufacturing at its facility in Angers in western France, the place it operates what it says is the one supercomputer manufacturing plant in Europe and the place a brand new manufacturing constructing is ready to open quickly.

However in actuality, the French state is now the only real shareholder of Bull, forming a part of its technique to develop sovereign capabilities in supercomputing and AI.

“This sounds just like the French have a plan to make tech extra sovereign,” says Omdia chief analyst Roy Illsley.

“Whereas it should little question use US expertise reminiscent of Nvidia, it should additionally in all probability use French LLM Mistral, so making France extra self-reliant,” he instructed The Register.

“The UK may be taught from the French, in easy methods to be much less reliant on the US and different nations for essential business. The French even have an AI plan that lays out how they’re planning to develop, use, and turn into an AI powerhouse.”

As Eviden, Bull constructed Europe’s first exascale system, Jupiter, and in addition landed a contract final yr to construct a second one for France, named for pc scientist Alice Recoque.

Bull says that the French state’s possession of it supplies the corporate with an extended‑time period public shareholder, guaranteeing stability, strategic continuity and the preservation of essential experience in assist of a French and European excellence‑pushed industrial sector.

“With the completion of this acquisition, the French State as shareholder reaches a decisive milestone for France’s technological sovereignty,” commented Roland Lescure, Minister for the Economic system, Finance and Industrial, Vitality and Digital Sovereignty of France.

“The renewal of Bull, which we are going to actively assist, will mark the start of a brand new period for the strategic sector of excessive‑efficiency computing and synthetic intelligence. Collectively, we are going to construct a aggressive French and European providing that creates jobs, added worth and excellence,” he added.

For these targeted on the UK enterprise, the sensible affect of this transaction is minimal, in accordance with TechMarketView chief analyst Georgina O’Toole.

“The majority of Atos’ Excessive Efficiency Computing and quantum contracts sit exterior the UK, with some tutorial partnerships essentially the most notable home exceptions,” she says.

As for Atos itself, the corporate has been via a tough patch over the previous a number of years, with a number of abortive restructuring plans alongside the way in which after it racked up large debts, however O’Toole believes this newest improvement is optimistic.

“The proceeds from the Bull sale present welcome monetary headroom, decreasing leverage and supporting the funding case for Genesis. The corporate is in a extra secure place than it has been for a while, with capital now obtainable to be directed in the direction of the higher-growth, higher-margin alternatives that the Genesis plan calls for.” ®