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Wall Street Journal
31-07-2025
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
OpenAI Strikes Partnership to Bring Stargate to Europe
OpenAI is joining forces with two European companies to set up a data center in Norway, the ChatGPT maker's first project of this kind on the continent as it seeks to expand artificial-intelligence infrastructure outside the U.S. Dubbed Stargate Norway, the project is expected to house 100,000 Nvidia NVDA 0.85%increase; green up pointing triangle graphics-processing units by the end of next year. OpenAI is partnering with AI infrastructure company Nscale Global Holdings and industrial group Aker to set up the facility in Kvandal, just outside Narvik in northern Norway.
Yahoo
31-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
OpenAI to launch AI data center in Norway, its first in Europe
OpenAI said Thursday that it plans to launch Stargate Norway, its first AI data center in Europe, in partnership with British AI cloud infrastructure provider Nscale and Norwegian energy infrastructure firm Aker. Nscale will design and build the site, and it will be a 50/50 joint venture between the two companies. OpenAI will be an 'off-taker' in the project, buying capacity from the data center. The announcement comes as Europe races to achieve AI sovereignty and invest in data centers and compute power. Earlier this week, the bloc unveiled details of its multi-billion-dollar investment into AI infrastructure, including 10 billion euros ($11.8 billion) to set up 13 AI factories and 20 billion euros as an initial investment in the factories. Data sovereignty is key to that mission, due to the sensitive nature of business and government data. It's not clear if OpenAI's data center is a part of the European Union's plans to scale AI at home, and OpenAI did not immediately comment when contacted by TechCrunch. Nscale CEO Josh Payne told CNBC that part of the purpose of this project is to 'leverage European sovereign compute' for the benefit of the continent. Norway's AI ecosystem, like startups and scientific researchers, will get priority access to the center. CNBC also reported that Nscale and Aker have each committed around $1 billion to the initial 20 megawatt (MW) phase of the project. OpenAI says Stargate Norway will initially deliver 230 MW capacity, with plans to expand to 290 MW, and will run on 100,000 Nvidia GPUs by the end of 2026. The site will be located near Narvik, a small town in northern Norway. OpenAI said in a blog post the region is notable for its access to hydropower, a cool climate, and a 'mature industrial base.' 'The facility will run entirely on renewable power and is expected to incorporate closed-loop, direct-to-chip liquid cooling to ensure maximum cooling efficiency,' said OpenAI. 'Additionally, excess heat from the GPU systems will be made available to support low-carbon enterprises in the region.' Per the EU AI Act, which took effect in August 2024 and bans systems with 'unacceptable risk,' companies building data centers must take steps to protect the environment and be transparent about the energy consumption of AI models. Additionally, the bloc's Energy Efficiency Directive emphasizes energy efficiency in the ICT sector, which includes data centers. The directive also directs data centers exceeding certain energy input thresholds to recover waste heat. The Stargate Norway announcement comes seven months after OpenAI announced it would invest $500 billion into 10 gigawatts of AI infrastructure in the United States over the next four years, in partnership with Oracle and Softbank. The deal also follows the launch of Stargate UAE earlier this year, and a recently signed deal with the UK government to accelerate AI adoption and boost infrastructure. Sign in to access your portfolio
TechCrunch
31-07-2025
- Business
- TechCrunch
OpenAI to launch AI data center in Norway, its first in Europe
OpenAI said Thursday that it plans to launch Stargate Norway, its first AI data center in Europe, in partnership with British AI cloud infrastructure provider Nscale and Norwegian energy infrastructure firm Aker. Nscale will design and build the site, and it will be a 50/50 joint venture between the two companies. OpenAI will be an 'off-taker' in the project, buying capacity from the data center. The announcement comes as Europe races to achieve AI sovereignty and invest in data centers and compute power. Earlier this week, the bloc unveiled details of its multi-billion-dollar investment into AI infrastructure, including 10 billion euros ($11.8 billion) to set up 13 AI factories and 20 billion euros as an initial investment in the factories. Data sovereignty is key to that mission, due to the sensitive nature of business and government data. It's not clear if OpenAI's data center is a part of the European Union's plans to scale AI at home, and OpenAI did not immediately comment when contacted by TechCrunch. Nscale CEO Josh Payne told CNBC that part of the purpose of this project is to 'leverage European sovereign compute' for the benefit of the continent. Norway's AI ecosystem, like startups and scientific researchers, will get priority access to the center. CNBC also reported that Nscale and Aker have each committed around $1 billion to the initial 20 megawatt (MW) phase of the project. OpenAI says Stargate Norway will initially deliver 230 MW capacity, with plans to expand to 290 MW, and will run on 100,000 Nvidia GPUs by the end of 2026. The site will be located near Narvik, a small town in northern Norway. OpenAI said in a blog post the region is notable for its access to hydropower, a cool climate, and a 'mature industrial base.' 'The facility will run entirely on renewable power and is expected to incorporate closed-loop, direct-to-chip liquid cooling to ensure maximum cooling efficiency,' said OpenAI. 'Additionally, excess heat from the GPU systems will be made available to support low-carbon enterprises in the region.' Techcrunch event Tech and VC heavyweights join the Disrupt 2025 agenda Netflix, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Sequoia Capital — just a few of the heavy hitters joining the Disrupt 2025 agenda. They're here to deliver the insights that fuel startup growth and sharpen your edge. Don't miss the 20th anniversary of TechCrunch Disrupt, and a chance to learn from the top voices in tech — grab your ticket now and save up to $675 before prices rise. Tech and VC heavyweights join the Disrupt 2025 agenda Netflix, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Sequoia Capital — just a few of the heavy hitters joining the Disrupt 2025 agenda. They're here to deliver the insights that fuel startup growth and sharpen your edge. Don't miss the 20th anniversary of TechCrunch Disrupt, and a chance to learn from the top voices in tech — grab your ticket now and save up to $675 before prices rise. San Francisco | REGISTER NOW Per the EU AI Act, which took effect in August 2024 and bans systems with 'unacceptable risk,' companies building data centers must take steps to protect the environment and be transparent about the energy consumption of AI models. Additionally, the bloc's Energy Efficiency Directive emphasizes energy efficiency in the ICT sector, which includes data centers. The directive also directs data centers exceeding certain energy input thresholds to recover waste heat. The Stargate Norway announcement comes seven months after OpenAI announced it would invest $500 billion into 10 gigawatts of AI infrastructure in the United States over the next four years, in partnership with Oracle and Softbank. The deal also follows the launch of Stargate UAE earlier this year, and a recently signed deal with the UK government to accelerate AI adoption and boost infrastructure.
Time of India
31-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
OpenAI to build its first European data centre in Norway, with partners
Synopsis The partnership, called Stargate Norway, will be fully powered by renewable energy, Norwegian conglomerate Aker said in a joint statement with Nscale and OpenAI. The gigafactory will be fully powered by renewable energy from local hydropower production, the companies added.
Time of India
31-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Aker and Nscale to build $1 billion OpenAI plant in Norway
Academy Empower your mind, elevate your skills Norway's Aker ASA said on Thursday it was partnering with Nscale Global Holdings and OpenAI to build a large artificial intelligence facility in northern Norway, aiming to install 100,000 Nvidia processors by the end of partnership, called Stargate Norway , will be fully powered by renewable energy, Norwegian conglomerate Aker said in a joint statement with Nscale and centre is the first in Europe under OpenAI's Stargate programme and follows the recent announcement of similar-sized Stargate UAE in the United Arab Emirates, the US tech firm said."This is one of the most ambitious AI infrastructure investments in Europe to date," OpenAI said in a blog post on its ASA's shares rose 4.1% by 0715 and Aker will jointly own Stargate Norway, investing about $1 billion for the initial phase of the project and with the potential to increase the site's capacity tenfold in future phases, they said."As OpenAI customers, Aker and Nscale will benefit from local access to models and AI services delivered via sovereign infrastructure," the companies said in their facility will run on Nvidia's advanced GB300 Superchip processors, connected by the US company's high-speed NVLink network technology, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said in a video presentation on the facility, located in a hydropower-rich region of Norway, will be among the first AI gigafactories in Europe, Nscale CEO Josh Payne said in the statement."Sovereign, scalable and sustainable infrastructure is now essential to remain competitive," he Norway is projected to consume an electrical power capacity of 230 megawatts (MW) for its operation, with ambitions to expand by an additional 290 MW, the companies said.
