Nvidia and Abu Dhabi-based investment firm MGX have teamed up with French partners to develop what is expected to become Europe’s largest artificial intelligence data center campus. Unveiled at the Choose France summit in Versailles, the project will involve the construction of a 1.4-gigawatt AI campus near Paris.

The initiative is backed by French state investor Bpifrance and national AI champion Mistral AI, and stems from broader cooperation agreements forged during UAE President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s visit to President Emmanuel Macron in February.

At the time, plans were discussed for the UAE to invest up to $56.4 billion in French digital infrastructure. The collaboration reflects the UAE’s push to diversify its economy and expand its global influence, while supporting France’s vision of achieving AI sovereignty.

Additional partners in the campus include industrial group Bouygues SA, energy firm EDF Group, and École Polytechnique, which already collaborates with the Mohamed Bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence in Abu Dhabi.

Estimated at $9.5 billion, the data center’s first phase is slated to go live in 2028, according to a statement from the Élysée Palace.

MGX, overseen by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan—who also chairs Emirati tech giant G42—has backed leading AI ventures including OpenAI and xAI, and is involved in the $100 billion US-based Stargate AI initiative led by President Donald Trump.