Masayoshi Son announced a €75 billion AI data center project in France, the largest in Europe, with a commitment to deliver 5 gigawatts. He recounted that President Macron challenged him in April to act quickly for the June 1 Choose France event, and within two months they secured three sites (Dunkirk, Bosquel, Bouchain) for 3 gigawatts, with an additional 3 gigawatts under evaluation. Son said the total investment, including chips and systems, could approach $750 billion, but SoftBank will not fund it alone; they will aggregate project financing with hyperscaler customers. He framed the project as a national security imperative, arguing Europe must move fast to avoid being left behind by the US and China. He also discussed converting France's electricity exports into 'intelligence' exports and proposed making France a center for AI robot manufacturing, mentioning a partnership with Schneider Electric.
| Figure | What it refers to | Type | At |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 gigawatts | AI data center capacity commitment in France | commitment | 2:18 |
| €75 billion | Investment size for the AI data center project | guidance | 2:18 |
| 3 gigawatts | Secured capacity at three sites | metric | 8:22 |
| additional 3 gigawatts | Capacity under evaluation | metric | 8:22 |
| $750 billion | Total investment including chips and systems | guidance | 2:18 |
| 2 gigawatts | Initial target proposed by Son | metric | 11:34 |
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Sign in to read the full transcriptSon, M. (2026, June 1). FULL PRESSER: Macron and SoftBank CEO Unveil €75 Billion AI Mega Project to Transform France | AC1G [Interview transcript]. DRM News. CEOInterviews.AI. https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/955520/
Masayoshi Son. "FULL PRESSER: Macron and SoftBank CEO Unveil €75 Billion AI Mega Project to Transform France | AC1G." DRM News, 1 Jun. 2026. Transcript, CEOInterviews.AI, https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/955520/.
@misc{son2026_955520,
author = {Masayoshi Son},
title = {FULL PRESSER: Macron and SoftBank CEO Unveil €75 Billion AI Mega Project to Transform France | AC1G},
howpublished = {Interview transcript, DRM News. CEOInterviews.AI},
year = {2026},
month = {jun},
url = {https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/955520/},
note = {Speaker-attributed transcript with timestamps}
}