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SoftBank Bets €75B On French AI Data Centers, 5 GW By 2031

TL;DR

SoftBank pledged up to €75 billion (~$87B) to build 5 gigawatts of AI data center capacity in France — its largest European infrastructure bet ever. Phase one is €45B for 3.1 GW in Hauts-de-France by 2031, with EDF and Schneider Electric as partners.

SoftBank pledged up to €75 billion (~$87B) to build 5 gigawatts of AI data center capacity in France — its largest European infrastructure bet ever. Phase one is €45B for 3.1 GW in Hauts-de-France by 2031, with EDF and Schneider Electric as partners.

SoftBank Bets €75B On French AI Data Centers, 5 GW By 2031 — daily-hour-news

Key Points

1

Total commitment: up to €75B for 5 GW of new capacity across Dunkirk, Bosquel and Bouchain

2

Phase one: €45B for 3.1 GW in Hauts-de-France by 2031

3

EDF partners on the Bouchain site; Schneider Electric handles the robotized plant build-out

4

SoftBank is both investor in and customer of OpenAI — French capacity will likely serve OpenAI workloads

5

Deal stems from direct talks between President Macron and SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son

Why It Matters

Europe has spent two years complaining about US and Chinese AI capacity — this single check finally puts it on a comparable build curve, and concentrates that capacity in nuclear-grid France.

Quick Facts

SoftBankFranceAI data centersOpenAIEDFSchneider ElectricMacron

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does this matter?

Europe has spent two years complaining about US and Chinese AI capacity — this single check finally puts it on a comparable build curve, and concentrates that capacity in nuclear-grid France.

What happened?

SoftBank pledged up to €75 billion (~$87B) to build 5 gigawatts of AI data center capacity in France — its largest European infrastructure bet ever. Phase one is €45B for 3.1 GW in Hauts-de-France by 2031, with EDF and Schneider Electric as partners.

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