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SoftBank pledges up to €75B for 5 GW AI data centers in France

Published
Score
12

Why it matters

SoftBank Group announced on May 30 at France's Choose France summit that it will build and operate 5 gigawatts of AI data center capacity in France, with potential total investment reaching €75 billion. The first phase targets €45 billion to deliver 3.1 GW across three sites in the Hauts-de-France region: Loon-Plage (Dunkirk), Bosquel, and Bouchain. SoftBank and its partner SB Energy will anchor the project, which is designed to serve AI companies, cloud providers, enterprises, public institutions, and researchers. The company projects the buildout will generate thousands of high-skilled jobs and include advanced data center manufacturing in Dunkirk with Schneider Electric.

The project timeline extends through 2031, though specific milestones for each phase remain undisclosed. The full scope of SoftBank's strategic partners has not been detailed.

For practitioners tracking European AI infrastructure and regulatory developments, this deal signals material capital commitment to France's digital sovereignty agenda at a critical moment in the continent's race for compute capacity. Attorneys advising on data center development, energy infrastructure, or cross-border tech investment should monitor permitting timelines and any conditions France may attach to the project. The scale and political visibility of the announcement—made directly at a presidential summit—suggests regulatory pathways may move faster than typical, but also that scrutiny around labor commitments, energy sourcing, and technology transfer could intensify.

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