SoftBank to develop 5 GW of AI data center capacity in France

TOKYO, May 31 (Jiji Press) – SoftBank Group Corp. announced Sunday that it will invest up to 75 billion euros to develop 5 gigawatts of artificial intelligence data center capacity in France.

This is one of the largest AI infrastructure investments in Europe by a major Japanese technology investor.

In the first phase, SoftBank Group will invest 45 billion euros to build a 3.1 gigawatt AI data center in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France by 2031.

The company also plans to build data centers in other parts of Europe.

To promote the investment project, SoftBank Group will partner with Schneider Electric, a leading French heavy electrical appliance manufacturer. Under the partnership, server racks and electrical equipment used in data centers will be produced in Dunkirk, a city in northern France.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]