Google to invest record $15 billion in AI infrastructure in the 'Texas of Europe'

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Google on Wednesday said it would invest 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 said it had signed a 22-year life extension power purchase agreement (PPA) with Finnish energy company, Fortum — which saw its stock jump 9% 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."

In recent months, data center projects with potential capacities of several hundred megawatts have been announced in Finland.

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."

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