UAE to Build Giant Data Center in France, Investing €30-50 Billion
On Thursday, February 6, the opening day of a global summit on artificial intelligence (AI) in Paris, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced plans to build a massive data center in France. According to the Elysée, this data center, with a potential computing power of up to 1 gigawatt, will be integrated into the largest AI-dedicated "campus" in Europe. This investment is estimated to be worth between €30 and €50 billion, as part of a partnership agreement signed in the presence of French President Emmanuel Macron and his UAE counterpart, Mohammed Ben Zayed al-Nahyane.
A Franco-Emirati consortium, including the UAE-based investment fund MGX, will be responsible for the realization of this campus. The location has yet to be determined. Furthermore, Clara Chappaz, the French Minister in charge of AI and Digital, announced that 35 locations are "operational" for the setup of new data centers in France. These will cover an area of approximately 1,200 hectares, with their locations to be revealed at the beginning of next week.
Around 100 countries are expected to participate in the AI summit in Paris, including J.D. Vance, US Vice President, Zhang Guoqing, Chinese Vice Premier, Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, and Olaf Scholz, German Chancellor. However, uncertainty remains regarding the participation of Elon Musk and Liang Wenfeng, creator of the recent Chinese startup DeepSeek.
