SoftBank Group plans to invest up to €75 billion [1] to build AI data-center capacity in France.

This massive infrastructure project represents a strategic effort to meet the surging global demand for AI compute power. By establishing a high-capacity footprint in Europe, SoftBank seeks to diversify its AI investment strategy while helping France secure a dominant role in the continental tech landscape.

The project intends to develop a total of five GW [1] of AI data-center capacity. The first phase of the initiative will focus on northern France, with a target completion date of 2031 [2]. This initial stage involves an investment of €45 billion [2] to establish 3.1 GW [2] of capacity.

The agreement follows high-level discussions in Paris between SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son and French President Emmanuel Macron. The scale of the investment is approximately $87 billion [3].

Masayoshi Son said that Macron personally courted him and that he was "impressed" by the president's commitment [2].

The initiative aligns with the broader goal of transforming France into a leading European AI infrastructure hub. By focusing on the northern region for the first phase, the project leverages specific geographic and industrial advantages to support the energy-intensive requirements of artificial intelligence hardware.

“SoftBank plans to invest up to €75 billion to build five GW of AI data-center capacity in France.”

This partnership signals a shift toward localized AI sovereignty in Europe, reducing reliance on U.S.-based cloud infrastructure. The scale of the investment suggests that SoftBank is betting on a long-term increase in compute demand that exceeds current global supply, while France gains a critical competitive edge in the race to attract high-tech capital.