Altman to Attend G7 Summit Following Macron’s Invitation, OpenAI Confirms

OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman is slated to attend the upcoming G7 summit in France, a significant move as President Emmanuel Macron intensifies his efforts to attract global tech leadership to bolster France’s burgeoning artificial intelligence ambitions. The summit, hosted by France from June 15-17, is expected to place AI at the forefront of its agenda.

Altman’s participation, confirmed exclusively to CNBC, marks his first attendance at the Leaders Summit. “The expectation is that he will be engaging in the leaders-level conversation at the G7,” stated Chris Lehane, OpenAI’s Chief Global Affairs Officer. The G7 comprises the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the European Union.

Macron has been actively engaging with prominent figures in the technology sector. This outreach has already yielded substantial commitments, including SoftBank’s recent announcement of a €45 billion ($53 billion) investment over the next five years to develop AI infrastructure within France. This substantial commitment followed direct engagement between Macron and SoftBank founder and CEO Masayoshi Son, who revealed to CNBC that the French president personally requested the data center development and that they engaged in direct text message exchanges to finalize the deal.

OpenAI anticipates the summit will culminate in a set of “voluntary commitments” from leading technology firms. “The main priority for Sam at the G7 is youth safety, but the broader point is that AI has moved from a future-tense debate to a governing reality,” Lehane elaborated. This focus aligns with the recent agreement by G7 digital ministers on a unified approach to enhance online child protection.

Beyond safety, OpenAI is also prioritizing discussions around frontier AI risks, particularly concerning “cyber and bio” threats. The recent unveiling of advanced AI models, such as Anthropic’s Mythos and OpenAI’s GPT-5.5 Cyber, has amplified concerns across industries and governments regarding potential digital security vulnerabilities. The sophistication of these models underscores the critical need for robust international dialogue and regulatory frameworks.

OpenAI has been strategically positioning itself as a vital partner for governments worldwide. The company’s “OpenAI for Countries” initiative, launched in 2025, aims to foster collaborations for building data center capacity and deploying advanced AI tools like ChatGPT to citizens. This program is notably being led by former UK Chancellor George Osborne, underscoring the initiative’s high-level strategic importance.

President Macron’s drive to strengthen France’s AI ecosystem has been evident, with the recent Choose France summit attracting significant multi-billion euro investment pledges from tech and data center firms. Notably, the United Arab Emirates fund MGX and the French public investment bank Bpifrance committed €7.5 billion to a new AI campus in France. Salesforce also pledged €2 billion in investments within the country.

When approached for comment, both Google and Anthropic provided no confirmation regarding the attendance of their executive leadership at the G7 summit. The Élysée Palace, the official residence of the French President, has been contacted for further comment.