SoftBank says it will invest up to €75 billion to build French data centers

SoftBank Group announced it plans to spend up to €75 billion (around $87 billion) to expand data center capacity in France, aiming to develop and operate up to 5 gigawatts of additional capacity.

The first phase will build data centers in Dunkirk (Loon-Plage), Bosquel and Bouchain to deliver 3.1 gigawatts of capacity to the Hauts-de-France region by 2031.

SoftBank, which is both an investor in and customer of OpenAI, said this will be its largest AI infrastructure investment in Europe. French economic minister Roland Lescure called the announcement a “testament to President Emmanuel Macron’s ambition to position France as a leading destination all along the AI value chain.”

In the United States, opposition to data center construction is heating up over environmental concerns and questions about how data centers affect the electrical grid and utility prices. SoftBank earlier announced plans to build a data center in Ohio, powered by a new 9.2 gigawatt natural gas plant.

France, Hauts-de-France

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