Bosquel, France — June 1, 2026 — A joint venture between SoftBank Group Corp. (TSE: 9984, “SoftBank Group”) and Sesterce today announced that it has been selected to develop and operate a 1 GW AI data center campus in Bosquel, France.
Located in the Hauts-de-France region, Bosquel is strategically positioned near several of Europe’s most important economic and technology centers, including Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, London and Frankfurt. The location will help serve customers across major European markets with advanced AI workloads at low latencies.
The joint venture combines SoftBank Group’s global AI infrastructure platform with Sesterce’s data center capabilities. Together, the companies will develop a campus designed for the scale, sustainability, and performance required by Europe’s growing AI ecosystem. The campus will utilize advanced technologies to minimize environmental impact and water usage.
“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.” said Masayoshi Son, Chairman and CEO of SoftBank Group Corp.
“This partnership with SoftBank represents a defining moment for Sesterce and for the future of 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,” said Youssef El Manssouri, CEO and co-founder of Sesterce, and Anthony Tchakerian, GM and co-founder of Sesterce.
Supporting Bosquel and Hauts-de-France
Beyond its national and European significance, the Bosquel campus is designed to deliver long-term benefits for the local community. As part of its commitment to regional development, the joint venture plans to establish a €10 million endowment fund that will be jointly managed with the Hauts-de-France region to promote the use of AI in local businesses, schools, universities and community organizations.
The Bosquel campus plan includes a community center serving as a meeting space for residents, local businesses, students, entrepreneurs and public stakeholders. The center will provide a venue for community engagement, events and ongoing dialogue around the project and the opportunities created by AI.
“From the beginning, our priority has been to ensure that this project creates long-term value both for our territory and for future generations. Bosquel represents a major opportunity for Hauts-de-France and for France’s digital future, but it must also be a project that benefits local residents, businesses, and public structures,” said Alain Desfosses, President of the Communauté de communes Somme Sud-Ouest
Advancing France’s AI Leadership
The Bosquel campus will help provide the AI compute capacity needed to support innovation, industrial competitiveness and technological sovereignty in France and across Europe.
By combining large-scale data center capacity with local job creation, regional investment, skills development and community infrastructure, the project is designed to deliver both immediate economic impact and long-term value for Bosquel, Hauts-de-France and France’s broader AI ecosystem.