OpenAI ‘pauses’ its Stargate UK data center plan

OpenAI is putting the brakes on Stargate UK, according to Bloomberg. That’s the company’s AI infrastructure project with NVIDIA that’s meant to help the UK build out its sovereign computing capabilities. The company announced Stargate UK back in September, but it launched a strategic partnership with the UK government months before that. Stargate UK would enable the government to run top AI models locally from data centers inside the region, “particularly for specialist use cases where jurisdiction matters.” But now OpenAI is pausing the project due to high cost of energy and regulatory issues.

In a statement provided to the publication, the company said that it still sees a “huge potential for the UK‘s AI future.” It added that “AI compute is foundational to that goal” and that it continues “to explore Stargate UK and will move forward when the right conditions such as regulation and the cost of energy enable long-term infrastructure investment.”

Upon announcing Stargate UK, OpenAI said that it would offer the same deal to other countries that want to expand their sovereign AI capabilities. It’s unclear if those plans are affected, as well, but it’s worth noting that the initiative, OpenAI for Countries, is also working with Australia, Greece, the UAE, Slovakia, Kazakhstan and other regions.