• SoftBank Group likes AI and big numbers
• It plans to build and run sovereign AI datacentres in France that will require up to €75bn of investment
• The move will raise key questions about funding and the meaning of sovereignty

SoftBank Group, the Japanese technology giant that is headed up by its larger-than-life founder, chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son, has unveiled plans to “strengthen France’s AI infrastructure [and] support European technological sovereignty by developing and operating 5 GW of AI datacentre capacity in France, “representing an investment of up to €75bn”. 

The announcement, which Bloomberg got wind of a few weeks ago, coincided with the Choose France investment event, hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron, which is focused on AI, digital infrastructure, green energy, chips and electronics, space tech and “technologies linked to European industrial and technological sovereignty”.  

SoftBank Group shared details of its deployment plans and associated partnerships, but did not provide insight into the funding of the plans, though it did note that the “commitment marks SoftBank Group’s largest AI infrastructure investments in Europe” (more on this later).

For now, the focus is on big numbers, which will suit Macron and the French establishment. According to SoftBank Group, the initial (and very substantial) phase comprises 3.1 GW of AI datacentre capacity in the Hauts-de-France region in the north of France by 2031, a deployment that will require an investment of €45bn. The AI datacentres will be located in Dunkirk (Loon-Plage), Bosquel and Bouchain. 

“SoftBank Group also plans to develop additional sites across France, reinforcing the country’s role as a leading European hub for next-generation digital infrastructure. SoftBank Group will work with SB Energy and other strategic partners to develop the projects,” the Japanese company added. (SB Energy is a SoftBank Group company that manages how datacentres connect and interface with power supply infrastructure, such as national electricity grids. 

French utility giant EDF announced that the site for the Bouchain datacentre is one of its former thermal power plants and that the resulting AI datacentre will have a capacity of 400 MW.  

According to SoftBank Group, these French facilities will “support growing demand for high-performance computing from AI companies, cloud providers, enterprises, public institutions and research organisations. The projects will build on France’s strategic advantages, including its advanced grid infrastructure, industrial land availability, engineering talent and strong national commitment to artificial intelligence.”

Masayoshi Son stated: “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,” said Masayoshi Son. “SoftBank is proud to make this major commitment to France. With its industrial capabilities, talent base and national ambition, France is uniquely positioned to become a leading AI infrastructure hub in Europe.”

To help with the development and construction of the facilities, SoftBank Group has struck a partnership with French energy technology specialist Schneider Electric “to leverage its energy technology solutions and develop a large-scale industrial production cluster at the Port of Dunkirk.” The cluster will comprise two facilities: One operated by SoftBank Group to manufacture enclosures, and one operated by Schneider Electric to integrate datacentre power modules. The Japanese firm says the partnership will “combine SoftBank Group’s robotics and automation capabilities with Schneider Electric’s industrial expertise and local supply chain network to support the deployment of next-generation AI datacentres at scale… By pairing AI infrastructure with advanced manufacturing, SoftBank Group and Schneider Electric aim to build a stronger, more localised and more resilient supply chain for datacentre infrastructure in France and Europe. The industrial cluster will also support Dunkirk’s ambition to become a leading hub for robotics, advanced manufacturing and industrial innovation.”

For further details and supporting statements, see this SoftBank Group announcement. 

The news will come as a real boost for those desperate to see Europe be the location for major digital infrastructure projects, which to date have mostly been located in North America and South-east Asia. 

At the same time, it will concern others who will not be so keen on having a major ‘sovereign’ infrastructure development under the control of a Japanese company: As we saw in TelecomTV’s recent free-to-download report, Digital Sovereignty: What It Means for Telcos, for some, sovereign infrastructure should not be owned and controlled by companies or organisations outside of a country’s or region’s jurisdiction, while others are less concerned about the ownership credentials of physical asset firms. 

But it will also raise questions about the source of the €75bn funding: SoftBank Group was careful with the wording of its announcement, noting that the value of the investments required to build the French facilities will be up to €75bn but it did not overtly commit to providing that capital itself. 

What seems most likely is that SoftBank Group will be the anchor investor and seek investment partners and supporting debt facilities to bankroll the deployments, something it has done with previous AI-related investments – see SoftBank Group puts its money where its AI mouth is.

But as has been seen before, such big-number announcements don’t always result in fully funded plans and real-world activity – funding for the $500bn Stargate Project, which comprises the construction of AI datacentres in the US and is being chaired by Masayoshi Son, appears to be patchy. And the plan by SoftBank Group-backed OpenAI to invest billions in a Stargate UK datacentre in the north of England has been shelved. 

While SoftBank Group’s plans make for great headlines and will undoubtedly fuel the ambitions of many in Europe’s tech sector, it’ll be interesting to see where the money comes from and what actually gets deployed during the next five years.      

- Ray Le Maistre, Editorial Director, TelecomTV