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Nscale, Aker and OpenAI to establish Stargate Norway: a 100,000 NVIDIA GPU AI Gigafactory

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Nscale Global Holdings Ltd. ("Nscale"), Aker ASA ("Aker") and OpenAI today announced the launch of Stargate Norway: an advanced AI infrastructure project in Narvik, Northern Norway. Powered entirely by renewable energy, the facility will target to deliver 100,000 NVIDIA GPUs by the end of 2026, with ambitions to scale significantly in the years ahead. Stargate Norway will be designed to provide secure, scalable, and energy-efficient infrastructure for sovereign AI workloads across Europe, fully aligned with European regulatory frameworks. The initiative is led by global AI infrastructure provider Nscale, in partnership with Aker and OpenAI.

Stargate Norway is planned to deliver 230MW of capacity, with ambitions to expand by an additional 290MW - positioning it among the most significant AI infrastructure investments in Europe. The project marks OpenAI's first data centre initiative on the continent and the inaugural European site under its 'OpenAI for Countries' program.



The facility will be located in Kvandal, just outside Narvik - a region characterised by abundant hydropower, low local electricity demand, and limited transmission capacity. These conditions result in power prices well below the European average, complemented by a cool climate and established industrial infrastructure, making Narvik an ideal location for large-scale data operations.

Stargate Norway is projected to generate significant activity and a long-term operational presence in the Narvik region. The project will also collaborate with local and regional academic institutions to advance AI research and development, supporting the growth of regional expertise and innovation in Northern Norway.

"Announcing Stargate Norway and delivering one of the first European AI Gigafactory to market is a strategic milestone for the region and boosts its role in the global AI landscape," said Josh Payne, CEO of Nscale. "Sovereign, scalable and sustainable infrastructure is now essential to remain competitive. We're proud to partner with Aker, drawing on the team's extensive experience and impressive track record, to deliver a new generation of AI economic and productivity growth in Europe. Together, we are combining OpenAI's leading models with Nscale's vertically integrated AI cloud, to provide the sustainable infrastructure necessary to support public benefit, build industrial resilience and enable long-term regional innovation."

The site will be designed and built by Nscale, leveraging its experience in delivering sovereign-grade AI infrastructure across Europe. It will be owned by a 50/50 joint venture between Nscale and Aker, to be formed through wholly owned subsidiaries of Aker following the planned merger with Aker Horizons. Completion of the joint venture is subject to agreed-upon closing conditions.

In parallel, Nscale and Aker will begin preparatory steps and mobilize resources for construction activities. Both parties have committed approximately USD 1 billion to the initial 20MW phase of the project, including upwards of USD 250 million in equity on a 100% basis, where each partner will contribute equally. The Kvandal site alone has the potential to scale tenfold in future phases as customer contracts are secured. OpenAI welcomes the opportunity to be an initial offtaker with the option to scale over time under its 'OpenAI for Countries' program.

"Norway has a proud history of turning clean, renewable energy into industrial value, powering global industries like aluminium and fertiliser," said Øyvind Eriksen, President & CEO of Aker. "Today, artificial intelligence and advanced data operations represent the next wave of value creation. Northern Norway, with its surplus of clean energy, available capacity, and industrial readiness, is the ideal launchpad for this transformation. With Stargate Norway, we're creating new jobs, activity, and long-term opportunities in Narvik and the region. For Aker, this is a natural evolution of our industrial platform. As data centres shift from cost centres to value-generating assets, Norway's energy advantage becomes a catalyst for the next generation of digital industry. We're proud to help drive this development alongside Nscale, OpenAI, and local stakeholders."

"Europe needs more compute to realize the full potential of AI for all Europeans—from developers and researchers to startups and scientists—and we want to help make that happen," said Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI. "I've always said we'd love to bring Stargate to Europe if the conditions are right, and we think we've found that in Narvik with clean, affordable energy, ideal climate, and great partners in Nscale and Aker. Stargate Norway will help provide the compute power to drive the next wave of AI breakthroughs and economic progress for Europe, in Europe."

The consortium behind Stargate Norway has made long-term sustainability a core principle of the project. The facility will run entirely on renewable power and is expected to incorporate closed-loop, direct-to-chip liquid cooling to ensure maximum cooling efficiency. Additionally, excess heat from the GPU systems will be made available to support low-carbon enterprises in the region.

As OpenAI customers, Aker and Nscale will benefit from local access to models and AI services delivered via sovereign infrastructure. They will also offer priority access to Norway's AI ecosystem, enabling homegrown startups and researchers to leverage world-class compute resources. Surplus capacity is expected be made available to public and private sector users across the UK, Nordics, and Northern Europe, supporting regional demand and contributing to the broader development of Europe's AI ecosystem.

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Nvidia going to 5 trillions.
 
Surprised the text of this release wasn’t rendered in a garishly-green font…

Weren’t the Euros supposed to be reevaluating their dependance on American megacorps or something?
 
Surprised the text of this release wasn’t rendered in a garishly-green font…

Weren’t the Euros supposed to be reevaluating their dependance on American megacorps or something?

It's a funny old circle. These chips wouldn't exist (in their current guise) without a Dutch company (ASML). Also (I didn't know this until this morning) TSMC and Philips (another Dutch company) go way back. To the point that when TSMC needed help in the 80s, Intel and TI didn't step in, but Philips did (with a share agreement).

The Netherlands - the small European country that gives to the world.
 
It's a funny old circle. These chips wouldn't exist (in their current guise) without a Dutch company (ASML). Also (I didn't know this until this morning) TSMC and Philips (another Dutch company) go way back. To the point that when TSMC needed help in the 80s, Intel and TI didn't step in, but Philips did (with a share agreement).

The Netherlands - the small European country that gives to the world.
Intel stepped in with $4.1B of funding for EUV and 450mm wafers in 2012.

ASML has also benefited from American patents to reach their current standing. This is the reason why ASML must obey American sanctions. (A lot of European technology is built on/with American IP.)
ASML has bought a lot of American software companies.
 
Yet another disastrous project channeling precious energy from an already overloaded power grid, ruining large swaths of nature, and probably draining taxpayer money through several forms of direct and indirect subsidies, only to create a handful amount of jobs in a data center which will already be obsolete in a few years. (Keep in mind, in Norway there are lots of operational industrial companies which can't expand their production because the free capacity in the power grid is reserved for a few prestigious data center projects.)

No one, except for politicians wants this crap.
 
Yet another disastrous project channeling precious energy from an already overloaded power grid, ruining large swaths of nature, and probably draining taxpayer money through several forms of direct and indirect subsidies, only to create a handful amount of jobs in a data center which will already be obsolete in a few years. (Keep in mind, in Norway there are lots of operational industrial companies which can't expand their production because the free capacity in the power grid is reserved for a few prestigious data center projects.)

No one, except for politicians wants this crap.
You must have missed the part that they are using power that can’t be used elsewhere.
 
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