SoftBank has unveiled plans to build AI data centers in France with a total capacity of 5 gigawatts, representing an investment of up to 75 billion euros. The first phase will allocate 45 billion euros for data centers offering 3.1 gigawatts of capacity in the Hauts-de-France region, with completion targeted by 2031. Sites include Dunkirk, Bosquel, and Bouchain. This marks SoftBank's largest AI infrastructure investment in Europe and was announced at President Macron's Choose France summit.
SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son stated that France is ideally positioned to become a leading AI infrastructure hub in Europe. The company is collaborating with Schneider Electric to build a manufacturing cluster for data center components in Dunkirk. Economy Minister Roland Lescure highlighted France's advantages, including fast access to the European power grid, a strong ecosystem, and streamlined permitting. The investment is expected to create thousands of jobs.
SoftBank's French AI data center plan
At the Bosquel site, SoftBank is working with French startup Sesterce to build a large-scale "AI factory" that integrates energy, compute power, and local partnerships. Sesterce CEO Youssef El Manssouri described the partnership as "a defining moment for the future of sovereign AI infrastructure in Europe." France is also home to Mistral, the only relevant EU AI startup with its own large language models.
Global AI infrastructure push
SoftBank is involved in numerous infrastructure projects globally, alongside the Stargate project in the US, though many have yet to materialize. In Abu Dhabi, a data center called "Stargate UAE" is being built with G42, targeting up to one gigawatt of capacity. SoftBank is a partner in that venture, promising $100 billion in AI infrastructure investments.
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In Japan, SoftBank is rallying industrial partners including NEC, Honda, Sony, and three major banks to develop a homegrown foundation model with one trillion parameters. All data processing is to stay on Japanese soil, partly in a former Sharp LCD factory in Sakai near Osaka.
In the UK, OpenAI and SoftBank are considering the first international Stargate site, but expansion depends on the US project, which is reportedly on hold. In South Korea, Masayoshi Son met with President Lee Jae Myung in December 2025 to discuss AI and semiconductor partnerships. SoftBank is setting up a chip design facility there to tap the country's manufacturing base.
SoftBank also acquired British AI chip company Graphcore and invested an additional $457 million. In India, Graphcore is investing up to one billion pounds in a new AI campus in Bengaluru.
Funding and stakes
SoftBank is one of OpenAI's largest investors and has been taking out loans against its stake to fund these investments. In May, Bloomberg reported that one of those loans was cut from $10 billion to as little as $6 billion because lenders had doubts about OpenAI's actual valuation.
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