The tech giant said the commitment is part of a 75-billion-euro program to roll out 5 GW of AI data center capacity in France.<\/p>\n
It comes after Softbank overtook Toyota to become Japan’s most valuable company by market cap, according to FactSet data.<\/p>\n
Softbank said Saturday that the initial phase of the investment plan involves building 3.1 GW of AI data centers in the northern Hauts-de-France region by 2031, including in Dunkirk, Bosquel and Bouchain.<\/p>\n
“The commitment marks SoftBank Group’s largest AI infrastructure investments in Europe,” Softbank said in a statement<\/a>. “It is designed to support the rapid growth of artificial intelligence by expanding access to high-performance compute capacity in France.”<\/p>\n Softbank’s CEO Masayoshi Son confirmed the 75 billion euros in investment in a press briefing with French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday, and signaled that the full investment is closer to $750 billion when taking the full system into account. <\/p>\n Softbank is aggregating project financing for the deal, Son said, adding that the venture has hyperscalers as customers.<\/p>\n “It’s a massive size of investment coming,” he said. “We are doing that in the U.S. already, we are expanding a lot in the U.S., so we have the momentum, which we can make France the center of Europe, and Europe needs this kind of AI technology.” <\/p>\n “There’s no choice. U.S. is going fast, China is going fast, Europe, Japan, Asia have to also go fast, not to be left out,” he added.<\/p>\n Softbank said it would partner with French engineering company Schneider Electric<\/a> to develop a large-scale industrial production cluster in Dunkirk as part of the buildout.<\/p>\n Softbank’s <\/a>shares were last up 14% on Monday and have risen more than 70% in 2026 so far on expectations that its investments in AI infrastructure will reap big rewards.<\/p>\n SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman attend an event to pitch AI for businesses in Tokyo, Japan Feb. 3, 2025.<\/p>\n Kim Kyung-Hoon | Reuters<\/p>\n The Japanese company’s fortunes are closely tied to the AI boom<\/a> through its stake in Arm Holdings<\/a>, whose chip designs are used in AI servers and data centers powered by Nvidia systems, and its investments in OpenAI.<\/p>\n Softbank has plowed more than $30 billion into OpenAI, with its investment gains in the company totaling $45 billion in the year ended March.<\/p>\n Europe’s high energy costs have become a major stumbling block<\/a> in its bid to become a global AI super power, as the U.S. and China dominate the AI boom.<\/p>\n The region is looking to get ahead in the AI arms race by ramping up compute capacity and building out the critical infrastructure needed for the technology. But power-hungry data centers mean investments are\u00a0particularly sensitive<\/a>\u00a0to the cost of energy, and\u00a0Europe’s prices are surging<\/a>\u00a0amid the U.S.-Iran war.<\/p>\n Data center projects are likely to migrate to\u00a0parts of Europe<\/a>\u00a0with lower power costs, creating winners and losers across the continent, experts say.<\/p>\n \u2013 CNBC’s George Bextor contributed to this story.<\/p>\n![\"Softbank's](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/108314345-17802953991780295396-46282233554-1080pnbcnews.jpg\")
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