Investing 75 Billion Euros. SoftBank Builds Europe’s Largest AI Cluster in France, Masayoshi Son’s Global Layout Places Another Key Piece

SoftBank Group announced on May 31 that it will invest up to €75 billion (approximately RMB 592 billion) to build what it calls Europe’s largest AI computing cluster network in northern France. The phased project targets 5 gigawatts (GW) of compute capacity by 2031, with an initial tranche of €45 billion to deliver 3.1GW across sites in the Hauts-de-France region — Dunkirk, Bosquel and Bouchain — and a later 2GW expansion contingent on market demand.

"SoftBank is very proud to make this major commitment to France. With its deep industrial base, high-quality talent pool, and firm national determination to drive AI development, France possesses the unique conditions to become the core hub of European AI infrastructure," SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son told media, according to TradingKey.

Project details and partners

The Dunkirk campus will serve as the core of the initiative and is planned to integrate R&D and robotics manufacturing in partnership with French engineering firm Schneider Electric. SoftBank said France’s abundant nuclear power supply is a strategic advantage: once the full 5GW of computing capacity is operational, annual electricity consumption would be equivalent to the output of five standard nuclear power plants, a scale described in the announcement as approaching the peak power usage level of New York City.

• Phase one: €45 billion to build 3.1GW by 2031 across Dunkirk, Bosquel and Bouchain.
• Phase two: up to €75 billion total to reach 5GW, subject to demand.
• Industrial partner: Schneider Electric for campus integration and manufacturing.
• Geographic advantage: Dunkirk’s access to London, Brussels and Amsterdam markets.

Global context in SoftBank’s AI build-out

TradingKey’s report positions the French investment as SoftBank’s largest single AI investment outside the United States and as part of a broader global rollout. In March, SoftBank announced a separate 10GW data center project in Ohio, U.S., and is participating in a multinational consortium to co-build a 5GW AI computing cluster in Abu Dhabi with partners that include G42, OpenAI, Oracle (ORCL), NVIDIA (NVDA) and Cisco (CSCO).

SoftBank has also committed more than $60 billion to OpenAI, is advancing U.S. listing plans for its robotics and energy businesses, and continues to expand semiconductor capacity around Arm, its core asset. The company’s recent data center strategy has partially replaced the previously planned $50 billion "Stargate" joint venture that was originally conceived to support OpenAI exclusively.

Outlook

The timing of the announcement aligns with French President Emmanuel Macron’s "Choose France" investment summit and follows a reported preliminary agreement reached between Macron and Masayoshi Son during a Tokyo dinner in early April. For Paris, the project is both an industrial bet and a political signal: the summit arrives with less than a year to France’s presidential election, and the investment underscores Macron’s pitch of leveraging low-carbon nuclear power and industrial capacity to attract major AI infrastructure projects.

SoftBank’s move adds a significant European node to its global AI infrastructure strategy, but the report also notes broader industry uncertainty — several announced capacity expansions worldwide have been delayed or shelved — underscoring that large-scale data center projects remain exposed to market and regulatory shifts.