The involvement of the Arnaults reaches far beyond premium brands. For example, patriarch Bernard Arnault acquired a three-star Parisian bistro in anticipation of the Paris Olympics, during which LVMH was a major sponsor. Le Bon Marche, the world's first department store, was acquired by them many decades ago. However, Arnault's recent interests extend beyond retail and luxury. It appears that Europe's wealthiest individual has quietly invested in AI during the latest surge of interest in this innovative technology. According to CNBC and private wealth management platform Fintrx, Aglaé Ventures, a technology-focused venture fund owned by the Arnault family office, has invested in five AI companies this year. The total funding for these companies amounted to $300 million, although it remains unclear how much of that was contributed by Arnault's venture capital. Let's take a closer look at the startups backed by the Arnaults: The largest funding round among the five in 2024 was for H, a French startup that aims to enhance worker productivity. Co-founded by a Stanford researcher and four Google DeepMind alumni, H raised $220 million in seed funding, with Aglaé as a participant. Other notable business figures, such as former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, have also supported H Company. Aglaé and Susquehanna led a $27 million funding round for Borderless AI, a Canadian startup specializing in human resource management.

Meanwhile, Parisian AI editing app Photoroom secured $43 million in funding. Lamini, an enterprise AI startup, and Proxima, a digital marketing platform, were among the other companies that received financial backing from the Arnault-owned venture fund. Fortune's request for comment from Agache and Aglaé went unanswered at the time of writing. It is worth noting that Aglaé has been investing in tech companies for years, even before the recent boom in generative AI. According to Fintrx, the French venture capital firm was involved in funding rounds in 2017 and 2019 as well. Over the past seven years, Aglaé has made more than 150 investments, including support for French gadget reseller Back Market, which is now considered a unicorn. While the Arnaults are renowned for their influence in the luxury industry, their family office has been involved in tech investments for nearly two decades. They were early investors in industry giants like Netflix, Spotify, and Slack. Moreover, the interest of LVMH's CEO in AI extends beyond startups. The luxury conglomerate has been integrating AI into its operations through a partnership with Google Cloud. LVMH actively engages with the topic through its annual LVMH Data AI Summit and recognizes innovative tech companies that contribute to transforming the fashion industry. Like many others, the Arnaults seek to participate in the AI landscape as it continues to grow in potential and popularity.