Nscale is set to significantly expand its planned UK capacity for Stargate UK and the project is expected to be based across a number of sites, including Cobalt Park, which will form part of the newly designated AI Growth Zone in the North East.

OpenAI will explore offtake up to 8,000 GPUs in Q1 2026 with the potential to scale to 31,000 GPUs over time. This sovereign capacity will enable OpenAI’s models to run on local computing power for specialist use cases such as critical public services, regulated industries like finance, research projects or national security partnerships.

NVIDIA will provide access to its most advanced GPUs, ensuring that Stargate UK benefits from the latest generation of AI hardware. Semiconductor designs by leading British chip design company Arm form part of Nvidia’s latest Grace Blackwell series of chips, demonstrating further collaboration between UK and US companies.

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, said, “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. This partnership reflects our shared vision that with the right infrastructure in place, AI can expand opportunity for people and businesses across the UK.”