Google will invest at least €13 billion ($15.1 billion) in artificial intelligence infrastructure in Finland through 2028, marking the technology giant’s largest single investment in Europe as demand for data centers and power accelerates across the region.
The investment will fund data centers and related infrastructure, including energy projects, as Google expands its computing capacity to support the rapid growth of AI services.
Finland has become a darling destination for data center developers because of its availability of land and electricity at a time when power constraints are emerging as a major obstacle to AI infrastructure expansion across much of Europe.
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Google said it will also enter into a 22-year life-extension power purchase agreement with Finnish energy company Fortum. Fortum shares rose 11% following the announcement.
“Google is proud to deepen our roots in Finland with the company’s largest single investment in Europe, building on more than 15 years of sustained investment in Finland,” Ruth Porat, president and chief investment officer of Alphabet and Google, said in a statement.
“This investment underscores Google’s commitment to grow our presence responsibly, pairing the expansion of our technical infrastructure with new energy capacity, grid enhancements, and energy affordability initiatives.”
The scale of Google’s planned spending highlights the growing competition among technology companies and data center developers for locations capable of providing the enormous amounts of electricity required by AI computing infrastructure.
Finland’s data center industry has expanded rapidly in recent months, with several projects announced with potential capacities running into hundreds of megawatts.
Pure DC said in July that it would invest €1.5 billion to develop a 110-megawatt data center campus in Finland, with the potential to expand the site beyond 550 megawatts. Arcem is also planning a facility with a capacity of up to 500 megawatts.
In March, Nebius announced plans for what it described as one of Europe’s largest AI factories in Finland.
“Finland is seeing huge demand for AI infrastructure right now, I’ve heard it called the ‘Texas of Europe’ at industry events,” Matti Lajunen, a partner specialising in real estate at Finnish law firm Hannes Snellman, told CNBC.
“What we’re now seeing is weekly new inquiries for market entry into Finland from new players.”
Texas has emerged as one of the world’s major hubs for AI data centers, attracting large-scale investments from hyperscalers and AI companies including Meta, Microsoft and Anthropic. Google said in November that it planned to invest $40 billion in Texas through 2027.
Google’s Finnish expansion also extends into potential nuclear power development. The company said it would work with Fortum to identify “new business models to improve the commercial viability of potential new nuclear reactors” at Fortum’s Loviisa site in southern Finland.
The nuclear initiative is considered significant because access to reliable, large-scale electricity is becoming a central consideration in the development of AI data centers. Nuclear power can provide continuous electricity generation while reducing reliance on weather-dependent renewable sources.
Google’s investment builds on more than 15 years of operations and investment in Finland and expands its role from data center infrastructure into the wider energy ecosystem supporting the country’s digital economy.
Finland is also attracting investment linked to other major technology platforms. TikTok, for example, has plans to expand its data center capacity in the country.
Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said Google’s investment would generate benefits beyond the immediate capital expenditure.
“The value of the data economy extends far beyond direct investment into spurring innovation, research, and development,” Orpo said. “Deepening our collaboration with Google will deliver lasting benefits for both parties.”
The investment comes as AI companies race to secure computing capacity, electricity and suitable sites for increasingly power-intensive data centers. For Finland, Google’s commitment reinforces the country’s emergence as one of Europe’s most closely watched markets for AI infrastructure.
The broader competition is increasingly shifting from access to advanced AI models alone to control over the physical infrastructure required to train and operate them. Data centers, electricity generation, transmission networks, and long-term power contracts are becoming strategic assets in the expansion of the AI economy.