Cryptominer Phoenix Group is pivoting to AI and HPC data centers and expanding its footprint into Europe, deploying capacity in a facility in France.

The company this week announced a partnership with DC Max to develop its first European AI data center, an 18MW facility in Lyon.

“What we are announcing today is not an incremental step; it is a genuine inflection point for Phoenix and for what an Emirati company can achieve on the global stage,” said Munaf Ali, co-founder and GCEO, Phoenix Group. “We are establishing a presence at the heart of European AI infrastructure, bringing the conviction and capital to build something that will compound in value for years to come.”

Phoenix said it has secured the land, permits, grid connection, and available power for the Lyon site in Dardilly. Construction is expected to begin in July 2026, with delivery targeted between Q4 2027 and Q1 2028.

Founded in 2017, Abu Dhabi-listed crypto, blockchain, and digital asset infrastructure company Phoenix Group claims a portfolio totaling 550MW across six markets (UAE, Oman, Ethiopia, Canada, and three sites in the US).

Phoenix said it is targeting 1GW of combined AI and HPC capacity across Europe and the GCC.

Ali continued: “The 1GW ambition is not a ceiling; it is a starting point. I am proud that it is a company headquartered in Abu Dhabi that is leading this charge, and I believe this is precisely the kind of bold, global move that our shareholders, our partners, and the UAE’s own AI ambitions deserve.”

DC Max is a recently formed data center investor, developer, and operator. An affiliate of European real estate investment firm Freo Group, it claims a pipeline portfolio totaling 2GW of capacity with five owned sites across France and Germany alongside planned developments in Spain, Italy, Norway, and the United Kingdom. The company says its projects range from 3MW to 300MW.

Romain Fremont, CEO of DC Max, said: “Phoenix brings exactly the kind of operational scale and capital discipline that French data center development has been waiting for. We have spent years identifying and securing the best power positions in this market, in Lyon and across France, and this partnership means we can now move on that pipeline at a pace and scale that would not have been possible independently. The demand is there. The sites are there. What this partnership adds is the ability to deliver.”

Founded in 1996, Freo Group is an international real estate and private markets investment manager. The company has invested and/or developed more than 60 projects totaling more than 2.4 million square meters (25.83 million square feet) across office, retail, hotel, industrial, and multi-use developments in Europe and the US. The company is not known for its data center developments, but has previously been linked to a large data center campus being proposed in Rostock, Germany.