SoftBank Commits Up to €75 Billion for AI Data Center Mega-Project in France

SoftBank Group has announced its largest-ever AI infrastructure commitment in Europe: up to €75 billion ($87 billion) to develop 5 gigawatts of AI data center capacity in France. The announcement, made May 29 in Paris, includes an initial 3.1 GW phase targeted for completion by 2031 in the Hauts-de-France region, centered on a major hub in Dunkirk.

The scale is unprecedented. For context, 5 GW of data center capacity is roughly equivalent to the power consumption of a major European city. The project reflects how AI competition has expanded beyond model development to encompass energy, land, grid access, and national sovereignty.

SoftBank's investment underscores several converging trends in the AI infrastructure landscape. First, the demand for inference capacity is growing faster than training capacity as AI models move from development into production deployment. Second, Europe is actively seeking to reduce its dependence on US-based cloud providers for AI compute. Third, France specifically offers a combination of nuclear-powered electricity (low-carbon and relatively cheap), available industrial land, and government incentives for technology investment.

The Dunkirk location is strategic — it offers proximity to subsea cable landing points, established power grid infrastructure, and direct connections to major European population centers. The project is expected to create thousands of construction and operational jobs.

For the broader AI ecosystem, SoftBank's commitment signals that the capital requirements for AI infrastructure are now at sovereign-scale levels. This has implications for how startups and enterprises plan their compute strategies, and for governments assessing their competitive positioning in the global AI race.