OpenAI invests in Stargate’s first European data center

OpenAI invests in Stargate’s first European data center

OpenAI has agreed to become a key customer of a new data center in Norway, which will be the first European facility of the Stargate infrastructure project. This was announced in a joint statement by Norwegian investor Aker ASA and Nscale Global Holdings Ltd., which will be responsible for construction.

The site, which will be jointly owned by the two European companies, will initially provide 230 megawatts of power with the prospect of expanding by another 290 megawatts.

European government officials and business leaders are increasingly calling for increased investment in generative AI capabilities, fearing a loss of momentum and dominance by the US and China in this area, Bloomberg reports. The EU has previously announced a €20 billion ($22.9 billion) subsidy program to support large AI “gigafactories,” with similar initiatives introduced by the UK and France.

OpenAI’s expansion in Europe

At the same time, OpenAI continues to expand its commercial presence in Europe, despite stricter regulations and a cautious attitude toward Silicon Valley technologies. In May, the company announced its OpenAI for Countries plan, which involves exporting its flagship Stargate project outside the US.

The statement says that the Norwegian data center will be “one of the largest” infrastructure investments in AI in Europe. For comparison, the UK announced this year the creation of AI Growth Zones with a capacity of 500 megawatts each, and in May, the French government promised to build a 1.4-gigawatt AI campus near Paris.

However, the scale of Stargate in Norway is still inferior to OpenAI’s plans in other countries. In particular, the company promised to create a 5-gigawatt center in the UAE, and Stargate is expected to reach 4.5 gigawatts in the US. OpenAI and its partners, including SoftBank Group Corp. and Oracle Corp., are prepared to spend up to $500 billion on these projects. Investments in the Norwegian project are not currently being disclosed.

The companies plan to install 100,000 Nvidia graphics processors in the data center by the end of 2026 and continue to expand capacity thereafter. The completion date for construction has not yet been announced. Aker and Nscale, a British startup founded last year, have committed to investing approximately $1 billion in the first phase of the 20-megawatt project.

The data center will be built in Kvanda, on the coast of one of Norway’s fjords. It will run solely on renewable energy.