SoftBank Plans 75 Billion Euro AI Data Center Investment in France
SoftBank Group will develop 5 gigawatts of AI data center capacity in France, committing up to 75 billion euros to the project. The investment ranks among Europe's largest in AI infrastructure.
The first phase involves spending 45 billion euros to build a 3.1-gigawatt facility in the Hauts-de-France region in northern France by 2031. SoftBank plans additional data centers elsewhere in the country.
Partnership with Schneider Electric
SoftBank is partnering with Schneider Electric, a French electrical equipment manufacturer, to accelerate the project. The companies will produce server racks and electrical equipment at a facility in Dunkirk.
The partnership ties manufacturing to the data center locations, reducing logistics complexity and establishing local supply chains for the infrastructure.
What This Means for Infrastructure Development
For IT and infrastructure professionals, the project signals where major cloud providers are directing capacity. France's Hauts-de-France region will become a significant hub for AI workloads in Europe.
The manufacturing component in Dunkirk creates a vertically integrated supply chain - a model other large-scale data center operators may follow as they expand capacity across the continent.
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