google announced Wednesday that it will invest at least 13 billion euros ($15.1 billion) in AI infrastructure in Finland, making it the tech giant’s biggest single investment in Europe.
Finland has emerged as a key data center hub amid the AI boom, with hyperscalers and developers eyeing land and power that are in short supply in much of Europe.
Google will commit funding through 2028, including other supporting investments such as data centers and energy projects, the company said in a statement.
It added that it had signed a 22-year extended life power purchase agreement (PPA) with the Finnish energy company. fortum —The stock price rose 11% on the news.
“Building on more than 15 years of continued investment in Finland, Google is proud to be able to put down roots in Finland, making this the company’s largest single investment in Europe,” Alphabet and Google President and Chief Investment Officer Ruth Porat said in a statement.
“This investment underscores our commitment to responsibly expand our presence by combining expansion of our technology infrastructure with new energy capacity, grid enhancements, and energy affordability initiatives.”
Finland’s fast-growing data center sector
Several data center projects with potential capacity of hundreds of megawatts have been announced in Finland in recent months.
PureDC announced in July that it would invest 1.5 billion euros ($1.74 billion) to build a 110-megawatt campus in Finland, with the potential to expand beyond 550 megawatts. Arcem has plans for sites with up to 500 megawatts of capacity. In March, Nevius announced plans to build one of Europe’s largest AI factories in Finland.
Matti Lajunen, a real estate partner at Finnish law firm Hannes Snellman, told CNBC: “Finland currently has a huge demand for AI infrastructure. I’ve heard it referred to as the ‘Texas of Europe’ at industry events.” “What we are currently seeing is that we are receiving new inquiries from new entrants about entering the Finnish market every week.”
Texas is one of the world’s leading AI data center hubs, with hyperscalers and AI labs announcing numerous megaprojects. Meta, microsoft And humanity. Google announced in November that it would invest $40 billion in Texas through 2027.
A map showing data centers across the United States.
CNBC
Google said it would work alongside Fortum at its base in the southern Finnish town of Lovisa to “work to identify new business models to increase the commercial viability of potential new nuclear reactors.”
Finland is also an attractive location for digital infrastructure to support social media workloads, and TikTok plans to expand its data center capacity in the country.
“The value of the data economy goes far beyond direct investment to foster innovation, research and development,” said Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo. “Deepening our cooperation with Google will bring lasting benefits to both parties.”
