SoftBank is making a historic bet on Europe's AI sector. The Japanese conglomerate announced a commitment of up to €75 billion ($87 billion) to develop and operate 5 gigawatts of AI data center capacity in France - the largest such project on the continent.
Announced on May 30, ahead of the Choose France summit, the deal cements SoftBank as Europe's top AI infrastructure backer and marks the firm's biggest such investment outside the United States.
The first phase allocates €45 billion to deploy 3.1 GW by 2031 across three sites in northern France: Dunkirk, Bosquel, and Bouchain. The flagship Dunkirk facility will be developed with Schneider Electric, integrating advanced manufacturing into the buildout.
SoftBank, which holds stakes in OpenAI, is also involved in the Stargate initiative alongside OpenAI and Oracle, and has a major data center project in Ohio.
For investors, Schneider Electric is the clearest beneficiary so far. But given SoftBank's history, execution risk remains. The €75 billion commitment is spread over multiple phases, giving SoftBank room to scale back if market conditions shift.