OpenAI announced on Thursday, July 31, 2025, that it is launching an Artificial Intelligence (AI) data center under the Stargate brand in Norway, marking its first step in Europe with such a large-scale project. This project, which will be designed and built by the British company

Nscale as part of a 50-50 joint venture with the Norwegian energy infrastructure company Aker, aims to provide 100,000 NVIDIA Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) by the end of 2026, with an intention to significantly expand in the coming years. This move could represent a significant step towards strengthening “AI sovereignty” in Europe and accelerating technological developments on the continent.

Project Stargate: A European Strategy to Boost AI Capabilities

OpenAI will be what is called an “off-taker” in the Stargate project in Norway, meaning it will essentially purchase computing capacity from the data center. Josh Payne, CEO of Nscale, stated that “part of the purpose of this project is to collaborate with OpenAI and leverage European sovereign computing to unlock additional services and features for the European continent”. The data center will run entirely on renewable energy and will have a capacity of

230 megawatts, making it one of the largest in Europe. NVIDIA GPUs have become the de facto choice for data centers due to their ability to handle large AI workloads. For the Norway project, Nscale and Aker have each committed approximately $1 billion for the initial 20-megawatt phase of the project. The site will be located in Kvanndal, just outside Narvik in northern Norway, an area characterized by “an abundance of hydroelectric energy, low local electricity demand and limited transmission capacity”.

Payne declined to comment on how Nscale would finance this project or its financial benefit to the company, but noted there are no plans for additional Stargate data centers, although Nscale has its own “robust expansion plan for Europe”. Project Stargate was first launched this year in the U.S. as an infrastructure project between OpenAI, Oracle, Japan’s SoftBank, and the UAE’s MGX, aiming to invest $500 billion over the next four years in building AI infrastructure. OpenAI has explored undertaking this initiative globally, and in June, the company and its partners announced plans to build a Stargate campus in the United Arab Emirates.

Sovereign AI: The Challenges of Fragmentation and Infrastructure Solutions

Europe is promoting the concept of “sovereign AI,” which requires AI data centers and workloads to be located and processed on European soil. Payne stated that Europe has two “problems”: the first is that it does not have enough computing capacity, and the second is that it is “very fragmented”. “What the continent needs are large AI infrastructure projects that deploy computing power. The ecosystem can consume from the project to build AI products, generate productivity growth, and economic benefit,” Payne said. Companies like NVIDIA and OpenAI are also touting their ability to deliver sovereign AI as they seek to expand their businesses. During a trip to Europe this year, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang urged the continent to build more AI infrastructure. The French AI company Mistral announced plans to use Nvidia’s GPUs in a new data center planned in France.

Conclusion and Forward Outlook

The launch of the Stargate data center in Norway marks a strategic step forward for OpenAI and strengthens Europe’s position in the global competition for AI capabilities. The significant investment in NVIDIA-powered computing capacity, along with a commitment to renewable energy, positions the project as a leader in the field. However, the challenges facing Europe, as highlighted by Payne (fragmentation and insufficient capacity), still require comprehensive solutions. The success of projects like Stargate in Norway, and similar initiatives across the continent, will be critical to achieving European AI sovereignty and ensuring its place as a leading force in the global technological revolution.


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