Google is chucking at least €13 billion into Finnish AI infrastructure as the data centre arms race consumes ever larger piles of cash.
The Alphabet outfit said the investment will run through 2027 and 2028 and represents its largest single investment in Europe. The cash will fund new data centres, electricity grid improvements, clean energy projects and battery installations needed to keep Google’s expanding AI machinery fed.
According to Reuters, the infrastructure will support services including Gemini, Search, Maps and YouTube. Finland has become increasingly attractive to data centre operators because its cold climate makes cooling less painful and it has plenty of low-carbon electricity.
Microsoft and TikTok owner ByteDance are among the other technology outfits attracted by the country’s combination of cheap cooling and cleaner power.
Google said: “The new digital infrastructure will serve as building blocks for Finnish and broader European digital readiness, innovation, and AI development.”
The spending comes as Alphabet cranks up its worldwide capital expenditure to feed demand for AI computing. The company has increased its planned global investment this year to between $195 billion and $205 billion as the industry competes for data centres, electricity and computing hardware.
Google reckons the Finnish construction programme will contribute about $3.6 billion to the country’s gross domestic product while it is being built. Once operational, the infrastructure is projected to support about 7,000 jobs annually.
Finnish prime minister Petteri Orpo described Google’s decision as “a clear testament to our strengths”.
“The value of the data economy extends far beyond direct investment into spurring innovation, research, and development,” Orpo said.
The Finnish government has been keen to turn the country’s abundant low-carbon electricity and chilly weather into an advantage as AI operators discover that intelligence at industrial scale requires an equally industrial appetite for power.
