As recently reported by the Financial Times, the Stargate project is considering future investments into digital infrastructure in Europe, with consideration being given to data centre projects in each of the UK, France and Germany.
Stargate, the $500bn project backed by SoftBank, OpenAI, Oracle, MGX and others, was originally announced as prioritising AI infrastructure build in the US. Work is already underway on data centre build in Abilene, Texas, with further sites being evaluated throughout the US.
According to the Financial Times, the geographic scope of Stargate’s investments may soon expand to include European assets.
The UK in particular has trumpeted its openness to inbound AI investment, with the UK Government’s recent AI Opportunities Action Plan and the development of AI Growth Zones seeking to put the UK at the forefront of digital infrastructure build.
In parallel, French providers have looked to leverage France’s access to mature nuclear power assets as a means to respond to the power-intensive needs of AI infrastructure. As recently reported, EDF has been identifying sites for data centre development with 2 gigawatts (GW) of total available power.
Industry players will be watching keenly to understand whether Stargate’s expanding geographic range indicates a wider statement of intent in global data centre investment. From a UK perspective, any such investment will also prove a test of the UK Government’s approach to international investment in critical national infrastructure such as data centres.
