Mistral AI Inks Major Swedish Data Center Deal to Power European AI Ambitions
February 11, 2026
In a significant move to bolster Europe's strategic autonomy in artificial intelligence, French AI company Mistral AI has entered a landmark €1.2 billion ($1.42 billion) partnership with Swedish colocation provider EcoDataCenter. The deal, announced this week, marks Mistral's first major infrastructure investment outside France and is aimed at constructing a high-performance AI data center in Borlänge, Sweden. The agreement underscores the intensifying global race for AI compute capacity and the strategic push by European entities to build sovereign, sustainable infrastructure. Mistral AI, founded in 2023 and now valued at over €11.7 billion, will deploy its AI compute, including Nvidia's latest-generation Vera Rubin GPUs, at the new facility. The first phase of the campus is scheduled to open in 2027. The Borlänge site, a former paper mill spanning 20 hectares, is central to the project's scale. EcoDataCenter broke ground on the campus last September, with plans for it to deliver an initial 250MW of power, potentially scaling to 600MW. The company acquired the land for SEK 400 million ($39 million) in 2024. Mistral AI's CEO, Arthur Mensch, framed the investment as foundational for a European AI cloud, stating, "This investment is a concrete step toward building independent capabilities in Europe, dedicated to AI. By delivering a fully vertical offer with locally processed and stored data, we are reinforcing Europe’s strategic autonomy and competitiveness." Peter Michelson, CEO of EcoDataCenter, echoed the strategic importance, adding, "AI is critical infrastructure for Europe’s competitiveness, security, and economic growth. Together with Mistral AI, we are building high-performance AI infrastructure on Swedish soil – with sustainability, resilience, and European strategic autonomy at its core." The partnership signals a major expansion for both companies. For Mistral, known for using cloud services from Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud and as a customer of CoreWeave, this represents a substantial step in building its own dedicated infrastructure footprint alongside other planned clusters in France. For EcoDataCenter, which has pivoted towards hyperscale and AI clients, securing Mistral follows recent customer wins with AI firms like DeepL and CoreWeave, solidifying Sweden's position as a leading European hub for advanced digital infrastructure.
Source: datacenterdynamics
