TikTok to add 150MW data center capacity in Finland as Project Clover expands

TikTok is set to receive 150 megawatts of capacity from a new data center campus in Kouvola, Finland, according to an economic impact report commissioned by the company and its development partner Hyperco. The facility is part of Project Clover, TikTok's €12 billion initiative aimed at strengthening data security for European Union users. The report, published last week, marks one of the largest single capacity commitments tied to the social video platform's European infrastructure buildout.

The project is being delivered in two phases. Construction on the first phase, which will provide 50 megawatts of capacity, began in September 2025 and is scheduled for completion in 2027. A second phase will add another 100 megawatts, bringing the total to 150 megawatts once fully realized. A TikTok spokesperson told CNBC that the company will only become a tenant of the facility once it is available for use. "Once up and running, the data center is intended to form part of Project Clover," the spokesperson said. Hyperco has been approached for comment but has not yet responded.

TikTok's expansion in Finland comes amid a broader surge in digital infrastructure activity across the Nordics, where hyperscalers, neoclouds, and AI labs are competing for land and power to support AI workloads. Finland has emerged as a particularly attractive destination due to its available land and relatively stable energy supply, which remains scarce in much of mainland Europe. The Kouvola site is one of two Finnish data centers tied to Project Clover; TikTok announced a €1 billion investment in the Kouvola facility last year and said in April that it would invest an additional €1 billion in a separate data center in Lahti.

The scale of recent commitments in Finland underscores the country's growing role in Europe's AI-driven data center market. Pure DC said in July it would invest €1.5 billion ($1.74 billion) to build a 110-megawatt campus with potential to scale beyond 550 megawatts. Arcem has outlined plans for a site with up to 500 megawatts of capacity. In March, Nebius unveiled intentions to build one of Europe's largest AI factories in Finland. Chip maker Nvidia has also been working to catalyze deals in the Nordics, connecting companies with its graphics processing units to data center operators that have the capacity to deploy them, sources previously told CNBC.

For TikTok, the additional capacity is not just about scaling compute or storage; it is central to its regulatory and reputational strategy in Europe. Project Clover was designed to address concerns from EU policymakers about how European user data is handled, with a focus on local storage and oversight. By anchoring more infrastructure in Finland, TikTok is signaling a long-term commitment to European data residency requirements at a time when digital sovereignty is a growing priority across the bloc. The development also reflects a broader trend: as AI infrastructure deals multiply, social media and consumer internet platforms are increasingly becoming major players in the data center market, reshaping the competitive landscape alongside traditional cloud providers and specialized AI developers.