Bloomberg
Softbank Group Corp has said that it to invest as much as 75 billion euros (US$87.44 billion) to build 5 gigawatts (GW) of artificial intelligence (AI) data center capacity in France, adding that the country is poised to become a top European hub for AI infrastructure. The first phase comprises an initial 45 billion euro investment to deliver 3.1GW of AI data center capacity in the Hauts-de-France region by 2031, Softbank said in a statement on Saturday. The commitment, which the company called its biggest AI infrastructure investments in Europe, reflect personal diplomacy between French President Emmanuel Macron and Softbank founder Masayoshi Son, who met during the French president’s visit to Japan this year.
Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son attends an event to pitch artificial intelligence for businesses in Tokyo on Feb. 3 last year.
“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. The company also plans to develop additional sites across France, “reinforcing the country’s role as a leading European hub for next-generation digital infrastructure,” it said in a statement.
