Masayoshi Son, founder of SoftBank Group Corp., has met with President Emmanuel Macron to discuss plans for a French artificial intelligence data center that could be unveiled in the coming weeks, according to reports.
The talks form part of a prospective expansion of SoftBank’s AI infrastructure initiatives. Son is reportedly weighing a multibillion-dollar commitment to France as a component of that broader push. In preliminary conversations, he has raised a notional investment figure as large as $100 billion for the country, though sources indicate that the final amount could be substantially lower if SoftBank elects to prioritize other projects.
French officials and SoftBank representatives have signaled the possibility that details of the project might be made public at the Choose France Summit. The summit is an annual gathering created by President Macron in 2018 to showcase France’s investment climate, attract inbound capital, and highlight business opportunities in the country. Organizers and participants often use the event as a platform for announcing major investment decisions.
There are several concrete elements reported so far: the existence of talks between Son and Macron, the framing of the initiative as an AI data center project, consideration of a multibillion-dollar deployment, and a floated maximum figure of $100 billion that may not be achieved. The timing of any public announcement is described as potentially coinciding with the Choose France Summit, which takes place annually and was established in 2018 to promote foreign investment in France.
Beyond those points, details remain limited. Sources cited in the reporting did not provide a firm commitment amount, a precise project scope, a definitive timeline for construction or operation, or confirmation that an announcement will indeed take place at the summit. The reported $100 billion figure has been characterized as an idea Son has floated rather than a firm pledge.
As currently described, the initiative would sit within SoftBank’s wider efforts to develop artificial intelligence infrastructure globally. Observers will watch for any formal statements from the French government or SoftBank that confirm the scale, structure, and timing of the proposed investment.