Openai, launching AI data centers in Norway, is the first in Europe

Openai said Thursday it plans to launch Stargate Norway, Europe’s first AI data centre.

Nscale will design and build the site and become a 50/50 joint venture between the two companies. Openai will become the “offtaker” of the project and will purchase capacity from the data center.

This announcement comes as Europe competes to achieve AI sovereignty, invest in data centers, and calculates electricity. Earlier this week, Block released the details Billion dollar investments The AI infrastructure, which includes 1.3 billion euros ($11.8 billion), has installed 13 AI plants and 20 billion euros as initial investments in the plant. Data sovereignty is key to its mission due to the sensitive nature of business and government data.

It is not clear whether Openai’s data center is part of the European Union’s plan to scale AI at home, and Openai did not immediately comment when contacted by TechCrunch. NSCALE CEO Josh Payne He told CNBC That part of the purpose of this project is to “utilise European sovereignty calculations” for the benefit of the continent. Norwegian AI ecosystem has access to priorities to centres, including startups and scientific researchers.

CNBC also reported that NSCALE and AKER each have committed around $1 billion to the first 20 megawatts (MW) phase of the project. According to Openai, Stargate Norway originally offered 230 MW of capacity and plans to expand to 290 MW, and will run on 100,000 NVIDIA GPUs by the end of 2026.

The site is located near Narvik, a small town in northern Norway. Openai said Blog post The area is notable for its access to hydroelectric power plants, cool climates and “mature industrial bases.”

“The facility is expected to run on fully renewable power and incorporate closed loop direct liquid cooling to ensure maximum cooling efficiency,” Openai said. “In addition, excess heat from GPU systems will become available, supporting local low-carbon companies.”

Around I have an actCompanies that came into effect in August 2024 and ban systems with “unacceptable risks” must take steps to build data centers and be transparent about the energy consumption of AI models. Furthermore, the BLOC Energy Efficiency Directive highlights the energy efficiency of the ICT sector, including data centers. This directive also directs data centers that exceed a specific energy input threshold to recover waste heat.

The announcement of Stargate Norway will come seven months after Openai announces Invest $500 billion Over the next four years, the US AI infrastructure will reach 10 gigawatts, with 10 gigawatts, Oracle And Softbank. This deal continues with the launch of Stargate UAE Early this year and recently Signing agreement with the UK government Accelerate AI adoption and enhance infrastructure.