Cerebras begins construction on 165MW Finnish data center campus in Mikkeli

Cerebras has started construction on a 165MW data center campus in Mikkeli, Finland, marking a significant step in the company's European expansion strategy. The company unveiled plans for the facility on September 1, with work already underway on the first 50MW phase, according to a statement from its development partner Compute Nordic Finland.

The phased project, which will scale from 50MW to 80MW and eventually reach 165MW, is being developed in collaboration with Compute Nordic Finland. The campus will employ a closed-loop cooling system and is designed to support waste-heat recovery, allowing excess heat to be supplied to the local community. Investment in the project is expected to range between €1bn and €1.7bn ($1.16bn-$1.97bn), underscoring the scale of capital commitment behind the build-out.

Pyry Virrantaus, CEO of Compute Nordic Finland, emphasized the contractual certainty of the project. "This partnership with Cerebras is not a speculative bet on future demand — it's a contractually committed, phased build-out that reflects exactly how much AI compute the market needs today and where that need is heading," he said. "We are proud to build that capacity in Mikkeli, alongside a partner network of local and national organizations who are ready to deliver the project and build the workforce it requires."

Mikkeli, located in southern Finland approximately 230km (143 miles) northeast of Helsinki, has emerged as a growing hub for data center activity. Compute Nordic had been reported in early 2026 to be expanding its land holdings in the area, with suggestions that two 100MW facilities could be developed on the site. The company also operates a site in Sogndal, Norway. Other developers, including FCDC Corp, Orka Technologies, and Regant Oy, are pursuing projects in the same region.

For Cerebras, best known for its wafer-scale chips and associated cloud services, the Finnish campus is a cornerstone of its European capacity goals. The company previously stated it would target 200MW of operational capacity in Europe by the end of 2027, focusing on France and the Nordics. Beyond Europe, Cerebras has signed a lease for 40MW at a Digi Power X data center in Columbiana, Alabama, and maintains inference clusters in Santa Clara and Stockton, California, as well as Dallas, Texas. The company is also rolling out clusters in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and collaborates closely with G42, including on a supercomputer project in India.

In Canada, Cerebras is set to lease capacity at a Bit Digital facility in Montreal and from Bell in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, while also planning a large-scale deployment in Guyana. The company's recent earnings report highlighted revenue of $210m, a notable increase from the prior year, though it posted a net loss of $450.4m, compared with net income of $309.5m in Q2 2025. During the quarter, data center capacity that came online or was contracted for delivery by the end of 2027 brought total capacity to more than 600MW, with the firm describing its overall pipeline as being in the gigawatt range.

The Mikkeli project reflects a broader trend of AI-focused compute providers securing dedicated infrastructure in the Nordics, a region prized for its renewable energy availability and favorable cooling conditions. The phased approach also illustrates how developers are aligning construction schedules with actual demand commitments, reducing the risk of overbuilding while ensuring capacity is ready when needed.