SoftBank Group Corp. (a Japanese multinational investment holding company) and French data center company Sesterce have announced a joint venture to develop and operate a one-gigawatt AI data center campus in Bosquel, France, marking one of the most significant AI infrastructure commitments in Europe to date.

The majority SoftBank-owned venture was selected to lead the project, which forms part of SoftBank Group's broader five-gigawatt infrastructure pledge announced at the 2026 Choose France summit.

A Strategic Location at the Heart of Europe

The campus will be situated in the Hauts-de-France region, a location that the companies describe as strategically positioned near several of Europe's most prominent economic and technology centers.

Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, London, and Frankfurt are all within reach of Bosquel, positioning the site to serve customers across major European markets with advanced AI workloads at low latencies.

The project is designed to reinforce France's standing as a leading European hub for AI infrastructure, high-performance computing and digital services. SoftBank Group Chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son said the development represents an important step in the company's commitment to building next-generation infrastructure on the continent.

"AI will shape the next era of technology, industry, and human progress, and that future will require a new generation of infrastructure," Son said. "Bosquel is an important step in SoftBank's commitment to helping build that foundation in France, bringing together large-scale compute capacity and strong local partnerships to support Europe's AI ecosystem."

Combining Global Scale with Local Expertise

The joint venture brings together SoftBank Group's global AI infrastructure platform and Sesterce's data center capabilities. According to the announcement, the campus will be designed to meet the scale, sustainability, and performance requirements of Europe's growing AI ecosystem, with advanced technologies intended to minimize environmental impact and water usage.

Youssef El Manssouri, CEO and co-founder of Sesterce, and Anthony Tchakerian, GM and co-founder of Sesterce, described the partnership as a defining moment for the company and for sovereign AI infrastructure in Europe.

"Together, we believe Bosquel has the potential to become a flagship AI Factory, combining energy, compute, and execution at the scale required by the next generation of artificial intelligence," they said in a joint statement.

The campus plan has been designed by the architecture firm Patriarche and will include a community center intended to serve as a meeting space for residents, local businesses, students, entrepreneurs, and public stakeholders.

Job Creation and Regional Economic Impact

The construction phase of the Bosquel campus is expected to mobilize a wide range of companies, contractors, and service providers, generating substantial economic activity across the regional economy.

Once operational, the campus is projected to create 400 long-term skilled roles covering data center operations, energy systems, security, maintenance, and advanced infrastructure management.

Rollon Mouchel-Blaisot, Préfet de la Somme, said the investment carries significant economic and social implications for the local area beyond the permanent jobs created on site.

"The entire Somme region will be able to benefit from the presence of a world-class supercomputer to help shape its future," he said. Mouchel-Blaisot also noted that government services had been strongly mobilized throughout the call for expressions of interest to provide independent expertise and secure the best economic and environmental outcomes.

A USD 11.65 Million Endowment Fund for the Community

As part of the project's community commitments, the joint venture plans to establish a USD 11.65 million endowment fund to be jointly managed with the Hauts-de-France region.

The fund is intended to promote the use of artificial intelligence in local businesses, schools, universities, and community organizations. The initiative was developed in partnership with the Hauts-de-France region, the State Prefecture, and the Communauté de communes Somme Sud-Ouest.

Alain Desfosses, President of the Communauté de communes Somme Sud-Ouest, said the project was designed from the outset to create long-term value for the territory and future generations.

"We wanted this development to be fully integrated into the territory, carried out in dialogue with local stakeholders and accompanied by concrete initiatives supporting skills, innovation and local economic activity," Desfosses said. "The creation of a regional endowment fund and dedicated community spaces reflects this ambition."

France's Broader AI Infrastructure Ambitions

The Bosquel project sits within a wider national strategy to build out France's AI compute capacity. The country's strengths highlighted by the joint venture include advanced grid infrastructure, engineering talent, industrial land availability and a growing national AI ecosystem, factors that the companies say make France one of Europe's most attractive locations for secure, scalable and energy-efficient compute capacity.

The one gigawatt Bosquel campus represents one component of SoftBank Group's five gigawatt commitment to France, announced at the Choose France summit in 2026.

That broader pledge underlines the Japanese technology conglomerate's accelerating investment in European AI infrastructure as demand for large-scale compute continues to grow across the continent.

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