HAUTS-DE-FRANCE — SoftBank Group Corp. plans to invest as much as €75 billion ($87 billion) to build 5 gigawatts of artificial intelligence data center capacity in France. The first phase of the investment comprises an initial €45 billion to deliver 3.1 gigawatts of AI data center capacity in the Hauts-de-France region by 2031.

SoftBank’s initial investment plans to deliver data centers in Dunkirk, Bosquel, and Bouchain. Schneider Electric SE is set to be a partner in the Dunkirk data center project, with a goal of creating a hub for AI infrastructure and robotics manufacturing. The Dunkirk site is well located to serve customers in London, Brussels, and Amsterdam.

SoftBank also plans to develop additional data center sites across France, reinforcing the country’s role as a leading European hub for next-generation digital infrastructure. Emmanuel Macron and Masayoshi Son are expected to formally announce the investment during the Choose France Summit, an annual gathering of industry leaders to attract investment and promote France’s business appeal.

The investment commitment reflects personal diplomacy between Emmanuel Macron and Masayoshi Son, who met during the French president’s visit to Japan this year. Masayoshi Son, SoftBank founder, said, "I was very impressed by the fact that Emmanuel Macron is so personally committed to ensuring France’s economic success, even though our investments have so far been concentrated mainly in the US, as well as in Japan and Asia."

French economic minister Roland Lescure described the SoftBank announcement as a “testament to President Emmanuel Macron’s ambition to position France as a leading destination all along the AI value chain.” Emmanuel Macron has been an outspoken proponent of countries beyond the U.S. and China building their own AI infrastructure. He champions the idea of sovereign AI and investment in local players such as Mistral AI so nations can control their data and technology.