SoftBank Group announced today that it plans to spend as much as €75 billion (around $87 billion) to expand data center capability in France.
The goal, the firm said, is to develop and operate as much as 5 gigawatts of additional data center capability. The primary phase of the plan involves constructing data centers in Dunkirk (Loon-Plage), Bosquel, and Bouchain to deliver 3.1 gigawatts of capability to the Hauts-de-France region by 2031.
SoftBank, which is each an investor in and customer of OpenAI, says this might be its largest AI infrastructure investment in Europe.
In a press release, French economic minister Roland Lescure described the announcement as a “testament to President Emmanuel Macron’s ambition to position France as a number one destination all along the AI value chain.”
In the US, opposition to data center construction is heating up over environmental concerns, in addition to questions on how data centers affect the electrical grid and utility prices. Nonetheless, SoftBank earlier announced plans to construct an information center in Ohio, powered by a brand new 9.2 gigawatt natural gas plant.