- Nvidia invests $700 million into UK startup Nscale for hyperscale AI infrastructure
- Nscale and Microsoft to build UK’s largest AI supercomputer using 23,000 Nvidia GPUs
- OpenAI, Nvidia and Nscale launch Stargate UK with thousands of GPUs
Nscale, a London-based AI infrastructure company which emerged from a spinoff of crypto miner Arkon Energy, has secured $700 million from Nvidia to accelerate the buildout of hyperscale data centers.
The move places the startup at the center of the UK’s bid to establish itself as a global AI hub, a push which has seen major investment from some of the biggest names in tech, including $6.8 billion from Google.
The investment in Nscale is part of a broader partnership between itself, Nvidia, Microsoft, and OpenAI.
UK’s largest AI supercomputer
Together, the companies are pledging to deploy as many as 58,640 Nvidia GPUs across the UK, with the potential to scale to 300,000 globally.
Nscale and Microsoft have committed to building the UK’s largest AI supercomputer at Nscale’s Loughton campus.
“We are building the digital infrastructure for the AI era, deepening the connection between the US and UK and creating new opportunity in both nations,” said Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.
The site will deliver 50MW of AI capacity, scalable to 90MW, and will initially house 23,040 GB300 GPUs in 2027.
Separately, Nscale, OpenAI and Nvidia are creating Stargate UK, an infrastructure platform focused on sovereign AI workloads.
OpenAI plans to deploy 8,000 Nvidia GPUs early 2025, with capacity to scale to 31,000.
“The UK has been a longstanding pioneer of AI, and is now home to world-class researchers, millions of ChatGPT users, and a government that quickly recognized the potential of this technology. Stargate UK builds on this foundation to help accelerate scientific breakthroughs, improve productivity, and drive economic growth,” said OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
Nscale CEO Josh Payne said, “This historic commitment from Nscale shows how the UK can build the future of AI, together with our partners from the US. It’s only by building world-class AI infrastructure that we will stay competitive in the global race. These announcements represent the most significant provision of AI infrastructure in the UK yet deployed.”
“We’re ensuring compute is available for UK start-ups, scale-ups and enterprises, demonstrating that the UK can be an AI maker, not a taker,” he added.
“Today marks a historic chapter in U.S.–United Kingdom technology collaboration,” said Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said.
“We are at the Big Bang of the AI era – and the United Kingdom stands in a Goldilocks position, where world-class talent, research and industry converge. By building state-of-the-art AI infrastructure and investing in British startups, we are unlocking the power of AI for the U.K. – fuelling breakthroughs, creating jobs, and igniting the next industrial revolution.”
Nvidia’s commitment to Nscale highlights the rapid rise of the startup, which only exited stealth last year and didn’t even exist when OpenAI kicked off the generative AI boom with ChatGPT in late 2022.
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