TikTok expands data center capacity in Finland to support AI growth

TikTok’s parent company ByteDance is betting big on Nordic server farms. The company is investing €2 billion to build out two data center facilities in Finland, part of a sweeping €12 billion initiative called Project Clover that aims to keep European user data on European soil. The two sites, located in the Finnish cities of Kouvola and Lahti, are designed to store and process data for TikTok’s more than 200 million European users. Both facilities are expected to begin operations by 2027, with the Kouvola site potentially extending its buildout into 2028. What’s actually being built The Kouvola facility will launch with an initial capacity of 50 megawatts, then scale up to 150 MW at full buildout. The Lahti site follows a similar trajectory: 50 MW at launch, with the potential to climb to 128 MW over time. Finland wasn’t chosen at random. The country’s cold climate reduces the energy needed to cool servers, which is one of the largest operational costs for any data center. Finland also has abundant renewable energy resources, including hydropower and wind. The Kouvola facility alone is projected to create around 360 permanent jobs. Project Clover and the EU compliance play Project...