OpenAI and Nvidia to pledge billions for UK data centers

OpenAI and Nvidia are preparing to unveil a multibillion-dollar commitment to build and expand data centers across the United Kingdom, which is expected to be one of the most significant technology investments in the country’s history.

Reports indicate that the investment will be implemented in collaboration with Nscale Global Holdings Ltd, a London company responsible for operating large amounts of data centers, a major player in Europe’s growing demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure.

With OpenAI led by Sam Altman and Nvidia led by Jensen Huang, this move will be significant as it indicates both the size of projects currently discussed and their strategic value in establishing a bigger presence in the AI economy of Europe. 

Companies drive AI expansion

OpenAI sees the UK project as part of its broader push to expand the global Stargate data center program, which already includes major commitments in Norway, the UAE, and the US.

For Nvidia, which supplies the data to most of the world’s AI models, an added advantage is that it will be able to install its most powerful processors, the GB200 series of processors, just introduced by recent development, in a country where the growth of AI stands highest on the national agenda.

By the end of 2024, Nscale announced that it will invest $2.5 billion in UK data centers for three years, including a site in Essex to store such high-end chips as 45,000 would be housed. At that time, OpenAI did not disclose an anchor customer, and as a result, this brings credibility to the project and scale. 

Since July, Nscale has garnered the commitment from Altman to be the lead customer for the Norwegian site set up at Nscale and its extension to the UK; however, the relationship clearly illustrates how the two companies are deepening.  

UK seeks to lead in AI infrastructure

The move is well timed to align with Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s ambitions, who introduced a wide-reaching strategy earlier this year to “turbocharge AI” in Britain with investments in data centers, chip manufacturing, and designated “AI growth zones.” The zones are supposed to accelerate planning approvals and connect new sites to the national grid faster, acknowledging that infrastructure bottlenecks made Britain less competitive with the US and China.

Starmer has long said that massive private investments are necessary for London to maintain its presence in the global technology economy. Britain has already committed £1 billion of public funding to beef up computing capacity by a factor of 20. Still, the government cannot address the gap because the AI infrastructure projects are so large and complex. 

The arrival of OpenAI and Nvidia into this arena with billions of dollars in extra funds thus represents a key opportunity for the UK to deepen its position as Europe’s main development engine. While the companies have not disclosed the exact quantity of their pledges or the intended sites of these plants, officials and industry experts expect projects measured in the tens of billions of dollars over several years. 

The pledges will be part of a wider series of US-UK investment announcements associated with Trump’s visit, further consolidating technological diplomacy as a key part of economic and political diplomacy.

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