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France just became the AI arena
Nebius and SoftBank are helping turn France into one giant, very expensive server room. President Emmanuel Macron said the two companies are behind €53 billion, or about $61.7 billion, in AI-related investment commitments aimed at building out infrastructure across the country.
What’s actually being built?
SoftBank says it plans to start with €45 billion for 3.1 gigawatts of AI-focused data center capacity in northern France by 2031. That includes sites in Dunkirk, Bosquel, and Bouchain, with the possibility of scaling the broader project to €75 billion and 5 gigawatts.
Nebius, meanwhile, says it will invest more than €8 billion in cloud infrastructure and services in France, targeting 240 megawatts of capacity. In plain English: this is not a press-release love letter to AI. It’s concrete spending on the plumbing that makes AI run.
Why investors should care
If AI is the new gold rush, data centers are the shovels, jeans, and overpriced coffee. Whoever controls the compute, power, and cooling gets a seat at the table. For Nebius, this could deepen its identity as an AI infrastructure player rather than just another cloud name chasing the trend.
Big picture: Europe is trying not to get left behind in the AI race, and France is using nuclear-powered electricity as a flex. That’s a pretty good hand if you’re trying to lure billions in capital and a few thousand jobs along with it.