SoftBank plans up to EUR75B for French AI data centers

SoftBank's France plan is the clearest new sovereign-AI infrastructure story in the feed. The company says it will spend up to EUR75B, or roughly $87B, to expand French data-center capacity by as much as 5GW. The first phase targets Dunkirk, Bosquel, and Bouchain and is meant to deliver 3.1GW of capacity to the Hauts-de-France region by 2031. SoftBank calls it its largest AI infrastructure investment in Europe. This matters because AI policy is increasingly about power, land, water, chips, and national compute access, not only models and apps. France gets another argument that it can host more of the AI value chain inside Europe, while SoftBank extends its OpenAI-linked infrastructure strategy beyond U.S.-centric megaprojects. Watch grid approvals, energy sourcing, customers, and whether the capacity lands on schedule.

Key details: SoftBank, EUR75B, $87B, France, 5GW planned capacity, 3.1GW first phase, Dunkirk, Bosquel.

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