Google to Invest 13 Billion Euros in AI Infrastructure in Finland

Google has announced an investment of at least 13 billion euros in Finnish digital infrastructure for 2027-2028. It is the company's largest single investment in Europe and, according to Google itself, the largest industrial investment in Finland's history. The money will go toward building and expanding four data centers along with the accompanying energy infrastructure.

Four sites, one plan

The investment covers the expansion of the data center in Hamina, which has been operating since 2011 and where Google has long used water from the Gulf of Finland to cool its servers, as well as the construction of three new facilities in Kajaani, Vaala and Muhos. The company has invested about 3.5 billion euros in the region so far, dating back to the launch of its first facility in Hamina inside a former paper mill building.

The new infrastructure is meant to power key Google services, including the Gemini model, Search, Maps and YouTube, while also supporting digital readiness and AI development across Europe. The scope of work covers the data centers themselves, upgrades to the electrical grid, clean energy projects and battery energy storage.

Nuclear and wind power behind it

The investment is tied to a 22-year power purchase agreement with the Finnish energy company Fortum that supports extending the operation of the Loviisa nuclear power plant through 2050. The plant currently accounts for about 10 percent of Finland's electricity production. On top of that comes 629 megawatts of new wind power contracts signed with Valorem and Suomen Hyötytuuli, plus a 94 MW battery installation near Kajaani expected to come online in late 2027.

Finland has for years attracted hyperscale data center operators, including Microsoft and ByteDance, thanks to its cool climate, which lowers server cooling costs, and its large supply of cheap renewable and nuclear energy.

The economic calculus for Finland

According to Google's estimates, the investment will add about 3.6 billion dollars to Finland's GDP during the construction phase. At peak activity across all four sites, more than 37,000 construction workers and subcontractors will be employed, and once the facilities are running, about 7,000 people annually in direct and indirect roles. The company also announced a 31 million euro community fund for education, research and environmental projects in the regions covered by the investment.

This is the largest investment in Europe and the largest single investment in Finland's history - Antti Järvinen, country director of Google Finland

This means jobs, lots of jobs for Finns across the country - Petteri Orpo, Prime Minister of Finland

Context for Europe's AI market

The scale of the announcement fits into the ongoing race among major tech companies for computing infrastructure to power AI models, which in recent months has driven record spending by Google, Microsoft, Amazon and Meta on data centers worldwide. For Poland and the Central European region, the news is a relevant benchmark in the competition over locations for European AI infrastructure investments, a race that also includes Polish consortia bidding for funding tied to a so-called AI gigafactory.

The scale of the Finnish package, low double-digit billions of euros over two years for four sites, also shows how high the entry threshold has become in the race for hyperscale data centers, and how closely that race is now tied to long-term energy agreements, including nuclear ones, rather than just the construction of server halls themselves.