Nvidia and Abu Dhabi-based investment firm MGX unveiled plans to develop Europe’s largest AI data centre in France, teaming with local heavyweights to boost the region’s capabilities with the technology.
Announced at the Choose France business summit in Versailles yesterday (19 May), Bloomberg reported the project is valued at €8.5 billion.
Backed by French investment company Bpifrance and Mistral AI, the 1.4-gigawatt facility will be built on the outskirts of Paris. The first phase is expected to be operational in 2028.
Other local partners include Bouygues Group, energy operator EDF Group and university Ecole Polytechnique.
In a statement Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang described the facility as “transformational infrastructure for France”. The site will serve as AI hub supporting the “full AI lifecycle” covering training, inference and deployment of generative and applied AI models.
Planned as an open platform, the campus will also house exascale-class computing, sovereign cloud capabilities and low-carbon hyperscale infrastructure to support AI adoption across sectors.
MGX CEO Ahmed Yahia said the facility “will accelerate breakthroughs across science, education, public services and business, fuelling Europe’s next wave of innovation.”
The initiative follows UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s visit to France in February, where the UAE committed to investing up to €50 billion in French data centres.
In February, French President Emmanuel Macron pledged €109 billion for local AI infrastructure to boost competitiveness against the US and China.