SoftBank announces €75B, 5 GW AI data center plan in France

SoftBank, the Japanese technology group, has announced its largest AI infrastructure investment in Europe: a €75 billion plan to develop and operate 5 GW of AI data center capacity in France. The project was unveiled during the 2026 Choose France summit hosted by President Emmanuel Macron. The first phase, targeting 3.1 GW by 2031, will be backed by an initial €45 billion investment and focuses on three sites: Dunkirk, Bosquel, and Bouchain. In Bosquel, a joint venture majority-owned by SoftBank with Sesterce will build a 1 GW campus, creating 400 long-term skilled jobs and a €10 million endowment fund for local AI adoption. At the Port of Dunkirk, SoftBank will collaborate with Schneider Electric on an industrial cluster for data center infrastructure, including facilities for enclosures and power modules. EDF is involved at the Bouchain site. SoftBank has not yet named additional locations or provided a schedule for the remaining 1.9 GW of capacity.

Despite the enormous scale, the project is not near-term. The first phase will not come online until 2031, and SoftBank has not disclosed commercial access terms, anchor tenants, or pricing for enterprise customers, hyperscalers, or public-sector users. Energy access is a key highlight: French officials have emphasized the country’s low-carbon grid, fast-tracked permits, and involvement of grid operator RTE. However, without concrete milestones on power allocations, tenant commitments, or data governance, the project remains a long-term bet on European AI compute. SoftBank’s financing is tied to its rising AI spending and recent asset sales, including its exposure to OpenAI. For companies planning European AI workloads, this plan signals potential future capacity but not a solution for immediate needs. The next critical signals will be construction updates, customer-access details, and formal commitments on how the capacity will be sold or allocated.