OpenAI announced on Thursday that it is partnering with British AI cloud infrastructure company Nscale and Norwegian energy firm Aker to launch Stargate Norway, its first artificial intelligence data center in Europe.
Nscale will design and construct the facility, and the project will be jointly owned by Nscale and Aker on a 50/50 basis. OpenAI will serve as a capacity buyer for the data center.
The initiative comes amid a growing push in Europe to strengthen AI sovereignty through investments in computing infrastructure. Just days earlier, the European Union unveiled plans for a multibillion-euro investment in AI development, including €10 billion for 13 AI factories and an additional €20 billion as an initial investment. The focus on data sovereignty is driven by concerns over the security of government and business data.
Despite the timing, Nscale and OpenAI clarified that Stargate Norway is not part of the EU’s AI infrastructure initiative. Nscale CEO Josh Payne told CNBC that the goal is to support European computing capabilities for the benefit of the continent. Local startups and scientific researchers in Norway will be prioritized for access to the facility.
CNBC also reported that both Nscale and Aker have each pledged approximately $1 billion toward the first 20-megawatt phase of the project. OpenAI stated that Stargate Norway will launch with a capacity of 230 megawatts and plans to expand to 290 megawatts, powered by 100,000 Nvidia GPUs by the end of 2026.
The data center will be located near Narvik, a northern Norwegian town known for its hydropower resources, cool climate, and well-developed industrial base.
According to OpenAI, the site will be fully powered by renewable energy and use closed-loop, direct-to-chip liquid cooling to achieve maximum energy efficiency. Additionally, the excess heat generated by the GPUs will be used to support low-carbon businesses in the area.
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