SoftBank plans up to €75 billion investment in French AI centers

The first phase comprises an initial €45 billion investment to deliver 3.1 gigawatts of AI data center capacity in the Hauts-de-France region by 2031, SoftBank said Saturday in a statement. 

The commitment, which SoftBank called its biggest AI infrastructure investments in Europe, reflect personal diplomacy between Emmanuel Macron and SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son, who met during the French president’s visit to Japan this year.

Bloomberg has reported that Son floated the idea of SoftBank investing as much as $100 billion in France. The Japanese investor, who was used to fielding similar inquiries from company leaders, was intrigued by an approach made directly by a head of state and started reviewing the matter in earnest.

Read More: SoftBank in Talks for Major Data Center Project in France

“I was very impressed by the fact that Emmanuel Macron is so personally committed to ensuring France’s economic success, even though our investments have so far been concentrated mainly in the US, as well as in Japan and Asia,” French outlet La Tribune cited Son as saying in an interview.

SoftBank’s initial investment plans to deliver data centers in Dunkirk, Bosquel and Bouchain. SoftBank also plans to develop additional sites across France, “reinforcing the country’s role as a leading European hub for next-generation digital infrastructure,” according to the company statement.

Schneider Electric SE said it’s set to be a partner in Dunkirk, with a goal of creating a hub for AI infrastructure and robotics manufacturing at a site well located to serve customers in London, Brussels and Amsterdam,  

Macron and Son are expected to formally announce the investment during the Choose France Summit, an annual gathering of industry leaders to attract investment and promote France’s business appeal.  

The French plan follows SoftBank’s announcement in March to launch a large-scale data center project in Ohio, potentially channeling $500 billion to install 10 gigawatts of capacity. It would be an AI computing complex powered with roughly $33 billion worth of natural gas-fired electricity. 

These undertakings come on top of a $500 billion Stargate initiative that SoftBank is working on in partnership with OpenAI, Oracle Corp. and Abu Dhabi’s MGX to roll out data centers across the US. SoftBank has also committed to investing more than $60 billion in OpenAI for a stake of about 13%. 

The efforts highlight Son’s growing ambitions to secure data center bases in major locations across the globe as AI companies race to acquire sufficient computing power and meet rising demand for their services. For SoftBank, the new ventures may help broaden its sources of AI-related revenue beyond ChatGPT. 

There are questions about whether Son can tap enough financing to realize all of his AI ambitions. SoftBank scaled back plans for a $10 billion margin loan backed by the OpenAI stake after facing hesitation from some creditors, Bloomberg reported. The Japanese conglomerate and bankers helping it seek the loan have mentioned targeting an amount as low as $6 billion.

Macron has been an outspoken proponent of countries beyond the US and China building their own AI infrastructure, championing the idea of sovereign AI and investment in local players such as Mistral AI so nations can control their data and technology.