SoftBank Pledges €75 Billion for AI Data Center ‘Gigafactory’ in France SoftBank’s plan to pour up to €75 billion into AI data centers in France has set off a race to build Europe’s digital backbone, raising hopes of technological sovereignty while reviving questions about scale, cost, and environmental impact.

Early moves: France as SoftBank’s European AI hub

On May 30, SoftBank Group announced it would spend up to €75 billion to expand data center capacity in France, aiming to “develop and operate up to 5 gigawatts of additional data center capacity.” The company said this would be its largest AI infrastructure investment in Europe, centered on new sites in Dunkirk (Loon-Plage), Bosquel, and Bouchain, with 3.1 gigawatts targeted for the Hauts-de-France region by 2031.

In parallel coverage, the project was framed as SoftBank pledging €75 billion to build “Europe’s biggest AI facility in France,” placing the country at the centre of Masayoshi Son’s global AI ambitions.

Macron’s ambitions and Europe’s ‘digital backbone’

French officials quickly cast the announcement as a strategic win. Economic minister Roland Lescure described the plan as a testament to President Emmanuel Macron’s ambition to position France as “a leading destination all along the AI value chain.”

Days later, French private equity group Ardian emerged backing a separate €5 billion AI “gigafactory” outside Paris, combining a data centre with a research facility as part of efforts to create a European “digital backbone for the future.”

Sovereignty, strings, and uncertainty

Commentary from the Financial Times stressed that SoftBank’s data centre push offers France a path to AI sovereignty “with strings,” noting the country could become deeply reliant on a single foreign tech player. Analysts also warned that, although the plans are “undoubtedly grand,” it is “impossible to tell what capacity will be required when the 2030s kick off,” underscoring demand and technology uncertainties.

At the same time, the initiative unfolds against rising opposition to data centers in the US over environmental concerns and pressure on electricity grids and utility prices, even as SoftBank pursues another major data center project in Ohio. The French build-out thus sits at the intersection of industrial ambition, private capital, and unresolved questions about sustainability and long-term AI infrastructure needs.

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