SoftBank Group is set to invest up to $87 billion in France to build 5 gigawatts of AI data center capacity, aiming to establish the country as a premier European AI infrastructure hub. The initial phase involves a $45 billion investment for 3.1 gigawatts by 2031, driven by personal diplomacy between SoftBank's founder and French President Macron.

SoftBank is in talks with French President Macron over a potential $100B AI data center in France, which would be Europe's largest AI facility.

Total capacity for data centers expected to reach 5 gigawatts, among largest in Europe