SoftBank plans to invest as much as €75B ($87B) to build 5 gigawatts of AI data center capacity in France, calling it the company's biggest AI infrastructure investment in Europe. The first phase is a €45B commitment to deliver 3.1 gigawatts in the Hauts-de-France region by 2031, with initial sites planned for Dunkirk, Bosquel, and Bouchain, and Schneider Electric set to partner on the Dunkirk site as a hub for AI infrastructure and robotics manufacturing. The investment grew out of personal diplomacy between President Emmanuel Macron and SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son, who met during Macron's visit to Japan this year, and will be formally announced at the Choose France Summit. It comes on top of SoftBank's March announcement of a potential $500B Ohio data center project and its $500B Stargate initiative with OpenAI, Oracle, and MGX.
