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Google on Wednesday said it would invest at least 13 billion euros ($15.1 billion) into AI infrastructure in Finland, marking the tech giant's largest single investment in Europe. Finland has emerged as a key location for data centers amid the AI boom, with hyperscalers and developers eyeing its available land and power, which is in short supply throughout most of Europe. Google will deploy the capital through 2028, including into data centers and other supporting investments like energy projects, the company said in a statement. It added that it has signed a 22-year life extension power purchase agreement (PPA) with Finnish energy company Fortum — which saw its stock jump 11% on the news. "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." Finland's booming data center sector Several data center projects with potential capacities of hundreds of megawatts have been announced in Finland in recent months. Pure DC said in July it would invest 1.5 billion euros ($1.74 billion) to build a 110-megawatt campus in Finland, with the potential to scale beyond 550 megawatts. Arcem has plans for a site with up to 500 megawatts capacity. In March, Nebius unveiled plans to build 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, partner of 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 become one of the leading locations for AI data centers globally, with a number of huge projects announced by hyperscalers and AI labs, including Meta, Microsoft and Anthropic. Google in November said it would invest $40 billion in Texas through 2027. Alongside Fortum, Google said it would "work to identify new business models to improve the commercial viability of potential new nuclear reactors" at its Loviisa site, a town in Southern Finland. Finland has also been an attractive location for digital infrastructure supporting social media workloads, with TikTok planning on expanding its data center capacity in the country. "The value of the data economy extends far beyond direct investment into spurring innovation, research, and development," said Finland's Prime Minister Petteri Orpo. "Deepening our collaboration with Google will deliver lasting benefits for both parties."
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