SoftBank to Build 5GW of AI Data Center Capacity in France T

SoftBank Group is investing up to €75 billion ($81 billion) to construct 5 gigawatts of AI data center capacity in France. This project is the largest foreign investment recorded at the Choose France summit. The initiative establishes a sovereign computing foundation for Europe by using the French nuclear energy grid and local logistics. SoftBank announced the plan on May 31, 2026, as it moves technical assets away from a heavy concentration in the United States.

The first stage involves €45 billion to create 3.1 gigawatts of capacity by 2031. Construction will take place in the Hauts-de-France region, with specific sites located in Dunkirk, Bosquel, and Bouchain. SoftBank is working with Schneider Electric to build a manufacturing center in Dunkirk. This plant will produce the enclosures and power modules required for the facilities, which secures the supply chain for high-performance hardware within French borders.

Scaling AI Data Center Capacity in Europe

A 5-gigawatt capacity requires power equivalent to five nuclear reactors. SoftBank is coordinating with EDF at the Bouchain site to manage these energy needs through the national grid. This arrangement uses the carbon-neutral energy surplus in France for large-scale machine learning operations. The scale of this power requirement indicates a shift where energy availability, rather than real estate, dictates the location of new compute clusters.

In Bosquel, a joint venture between SoftBank and Sesterce will run a 1-gigawatt campus for high-performance AI workloads. This facility provides low-latency connections to financial centers in London, Paris, and Frankfurt. SoftBank is also providing €10 million for an endowment fund. This money supports AI education in regional schools to train the engineers and technicians needed for the project.

The Dunkirk manufacturing site is a step toward European digital independence. By building power modules and enclosures locally, SoftBank and Schneider Electric reduce the need for hardware from outside the European Union. This strategy ensures that the physical infrastructure for data processing remains under local industrial control. It also simplifies the logistics of expanding AI infrastructure across other European territories.

Work on these sites will continue through 2030. The first 3.1 gigawatts are expected to be online within five years. This is the largest commitment SoftBank has made to the European market. The project makes France a central location for global AI infrastructure development.

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Scaling AI Data Center Capacity in Europe

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