Ardian is backing a €5bn AI data center and research campus outside Paris, representing one of Europe's largest "gigafactories." The French private equity firm will build the facility alongside its data center group Verne, with one-third equity financing and the remainder through debt. This investment underscores Europe's push to build computing infrastructure and reduce dependence on US tech groups in the AI race.

The site will allocate 20% to data centers and 80% to research and industrial units, targeting a capacity of 500MW—equivalent to half a nuclear power station's output. Ardian aims to have 200MW operational by 2030. France's stable electricity prices, with 70% from nuclear power, provide a competitive edge. The project will appeal to US hyperscalers seeking European partnerships due to digital sovereignty concerns.

Ardian will separately invest €3bn in renewable energy infrastructure to address growing controversy about data center power consumption. This follows SoftBank's €75bn pledge for AI computing in France and Macron's €109bn AI investment plan. While Europe's efforts remain smaller than US and China's projects exceeding 1GW, the initiative represents a strategic move to close the AI compute capacity gap.