SoftBank's €75 Billion France AI Data Center Bet: Masayoshi Son Goes All-In on European AI Infrastructure

SoftBank has committed up to €75 billion to build a network of AI data centers across France, targeting a total capacity of 5 gigawatts. It is the Japanese tech conglomerate’s largest single infrastructure pledge in Europe.

The announcement was formalized at the “Choose France” summit in late May, with SoftBank chairman Masayoshi Son appearing alongside French President Emmanuel Macron.

Putting the Numbers in Context

€75 billion is roughly $87 billion. For reference, that exceeds Meta’s entire 2025 capital expenditure of around $65 billion.

Phase 1 allocates €45 billion to deploy 3.1 GW of compute capacity in the Hauts-de-France region by 2031, spread across three industrial sites: Dunkirk (Loon-Plage), Bosquel, and Bouchain. The full program targets 5 GW. Son told reporters that when accounting for the full system effect, the total investment impact is closer to $750 billion.

Why France

SoftBank cited three factors: low-carbon electricity grid, availability of industrial land, and depth of engineering talent.

France’s electricity mix is heavily nuclear, giving it one of the lowest carbon intensities of any major European economy. The Port of Dunkirk is one of Europe’s largest industrial ports, with existing heavy-duty power infrastructure capable of handling data center loads at scale.

Macron invested significant personal diplomacy in securing the deal. According to Fortune, he flew to Japan specifically to meet Son, building a direct relationship that ultimately directed this investment toward France over competing bids.

Schneider Electric and EDF in the Mix

The investment creates a defined manufacturing chain. SoftBank will co-develop two industrial facilities with Schneider Electric at the Port of Dunkirk: one for SoftBank’s server enclosure assembly, one for Schneider’s power module integration. EDF is the energy partner for the Bouchain data center site.

Schneider Electric CEO Olivier Blum: “The challenge of AI is to deliver both speed and energy efficiency at scale, and Schneider Electric’s role is to enable and accelerate this transformation.”

Tying the manufacturing side into the deal means France gets more than tax revenue and construction jobs. It gets a vertical supply chain that runs from equipment production to facility operations.

Where This Fits in SoftBank’s AI Strategy

SoftBank is simultaneously a major shareholder in OpenAI and one of its largest compute customers. A substantial portion of the Stargate project funding comes from SoftBank, aimed at building hyperscale AI training infrastructure across the United States.

The France announcement is the first major international extension of that build-out strategy. Son’s public framing was unambiguous: “AI is entering a new era, and the countries that build the infrastructure for this transformation will shape the future of technology, industry and society.”

Data center expansion in the US is running into two increasingly difficult obstacles: environmental opposition from local communities and grid capacity constraints from utilities. France’s low-carbon electricity supply and relatively streamlined permitting for industrial zones give SoftBank a cleaner development path.

How Credible Is the Commitment

Large-scale AI infrastructure pledges often diverge significantly from what actually gets built. The Phase 1 commitment of €45 billion comes with specific timelines and confirmed partners, but the full €75 billion remains a stated target rather than a binding contractual obligation.

The real benchmarks are when the Dunkirk facilities break ground, and what the completed capacity numbers look like in 2027 and 2028. Those figures will either validate or deflate the headline.

Sources: SoftBank Group Press Release · TechCrunch: SoftBank €75 Billion French Data Centers · Fortune: Masayoshi Son and Emmanuel Macron

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