30s Summary

French firm Data4 is developing two data centres in Greece, investing €300m ($338m) in a move to bolster the country’s digital infrastructure. The first centre is under construction near Athens, with completion due two years from its 19 November launch. The timing for the second site depends on how the Greek industry evolves, according to Data4 CEO Olivier Micheli. Further companies, including Microsoft, are also investing in European data centres as they seek to boost the AI and big data sectors.

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So, here’s some cool tech news from Greece. The French company Data4 is making a big move to help transform Greece into a tech and AI hotspot. They’re building two new data centers that are totally going to boost Greece’s digital infrastructure game.

The construction of the first center kicked off on November 19th, just outside of Athens. It was a bit of a celebration, as the Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis was in attendance, along with other officials and Data4 executives. During his speech, Mitsotakis talked about how awesome this investment is going to be for the local economy.

Data4’s got plans for at least two buildings — the first one’s already under construction and should be finished in about two years. According to Olivier Micheli, the big cheese at Data4, the second building’s start date depends on how quickly the market in Greece evolves.

When asked how the Greek tech scene stacks up against other European countries where Data4 has operations, Micheli said it’s pretty much the same deal. Local firms need somewhere to host their data, and the government is working hard to digitize its operations to make life easier for its citizens. He also mentioned how tech giants are eager to support AI and cloud development in Greece.

Overall, Micheli said that Data4 is shelling out around 300 million euros for the first two data centers. If everything goes smoothly, and they build a third data center, that figure could climb to between 450–500 million euros.

Data4 isn’t the only company investing in Europe’s data centers, though. Other big-name tech companies like Microsoft are also getting in on the action to boost AI and data capabilities across the continent.