The global AI data center build-out continues as OpenAI and Nvidia are among the American companies that committed to $42 billion in technology investments in the UK on Sept. 16.

Microsoft, Google, and other firms also announced investments spanning AI, cloud, supercomputing, nuclear energy, and quantum computing.

“The United Kingdom is building the infrastructure for the AI industrial revolution — advancing science, transforming industries and creating new economic opportunities,” said Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang in a press release.

In the same press release, Josh Payne, CEO of tech firm Nscale, added: “Sovereign AI infrastructure is key to national resilience, economic growth and strategic autonomy. This milestone deepens our commitment to providing critical AI infrastructure for the next industrial revolution.”

Trump, Starmer announce UK-US AI partnership

The commitment was formally announced this week during a state visit by US President Donald Trump and a delegation of US tech executives to Windsor Castle. Trump and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer signed a partnership agreement aimed at accelerating AI infrastructure and addressing the industry’s energy demands.

On the same day, Nvidia pledged to build up to 300,000 Grace Blackwell GPUs worldwide, with as many as 60,000 GPUs in the UK. Along with cloud provider Nscale and TK CoreWeave, Nvidia plans to invest an additional £11 billion ($15 billion) in UK AI data centers and related initiatives, including OpenAI’s newly announced Stargate UK.

Nvidia will also collaborate with UK firms, including Oxford Quantum Circuits and Digital Realty, to establish a quantum-GPU AI supercomputing center in New York City, as well as other partnerships with UK firms and universities. An online R&D hub, sponsored by Nvidia and techUK, will provide training to upskill UK developers for roles working on AI and robotics.

Stargate UK expands OpenAI’s footprint

Nvidia, Nscale, and OpenAI will collaborate on Stargate UK, which OpenAI said could involve infrastructure tailored to UK use cases and jurisdictional needs.

“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,” OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said in a blog post.

CoreWave, Salesforce, Scale AI, BlackRock, Oracle, Amazon Web Services, and AI Pathfinder also announced agreements to expand business in the UK as part of the broader initiative.

Nscale is building an AI complex in Essex

Nscale, which is headquartered in London but operates many data centers in Norway, is developing a data center AI complex in Loughton, Essex. The construction is part of Nscale’s $2.5 billion commitment over three years for UK data centers.

OpenAI has already partnered with Nscale in Norway, with plans to construct a massive AI data center.

Expanding into the UK could benefit OpenAI’s business. At the same time, stricter regulations overseas could slow the growth of its commercial operations. Exactly how commercial OpenAI is remains in flux today.

Nvidia has an ongoing plan to expand its business in the UK

In June, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said the UK was in a “Goldilocks circumstance,” with the right mix of the industrial base and startups to build supercomputers.

Britain “has one of the richest AI communities anywhere on the planet,” Huang said.

Nvidia has already pledged support for a U.K. sovereign AI industry forum and has formed partnerships with the cloud vendors Nebius and Nscale.

US tech ambitions align with Starmer’s AI plans

The close relationship between the US and UK means AI build-outs may be easier there than in the European Union, which has taken a more gradual, more regulation-heavy approach to generative AI. The UK could be trying to replicate Trump’s close relationship with the AI industry. Trump has emphasized AI as a driver of economic growth.

The push for an ever-stronger tech economy meshes well with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s AI initiatives. Starmer has encouraged the creation of “AI growth zones,” where data centers can be hooked up to the electricity grid on an accelerated schedule. He also announced plans to invest in AI data centers and the chips needed to power them.

The next such zone will be constructed in Northumberland, in the northeast of England, Starmer announced on Sept. 16.

“In this age of AI, I want the U.K. to be the destination of choice for companies at the forefront of technological change, and renowned for harnessing homegrown talent and building sovereign capability,” Starmer said in Nvidia’s press release about its investments in the UK.

Professor Chris Day, vice-chancellor and president of Newcastle University, said in an announcement that this investment “will enable us to expand training in AI, data science, cloud infrastructure and data-centre engineering.”

He added: “It will also enable us to provide cutting-edge AI and data research to support companies locating in the zone, building on our world-leading expertise.”

A study by the UK government on the use of Microsoft 365 Copilot in its offices found strong user satisfaction but no clear productivity gains.