OpenAI pauses UK data centre deal over energy costs and regulation

OpenAI pauses UK data centre deal over energy costs and regulation10 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleLiv McMahon,Technology reporterandZoe Kleinman,Technology editorReutersChatGPT-maker OpenAI is pausing a multi-billion pound UK data centre project aimed at boosting its AI infrastructure, citing concerns about high energy costs and regulation.Its project, dubbed Stargate UK, included a large data centre in Northumberland and making thousands of powerful chips for AI development available as part of a partnership with tech firms Nvidia and Nscale.The agreement came alongside a wider £31bn package of UK tech investment, lauded as a sign of the country's potential to become an "AI superpower".But an OpenAI spokesperson said on Thursday it would only move forward with Stargate UK when the "right conditions" could "enable long-term infrastructure investment"."We see huge potential for the UK's AI future. London is home to our largest international research hub, and we support the Government's ambition to be an AI leader," an OpenAI spokesperson said in a statement."AI compute is foundational to that goal - we continue to explore Stargate UK and will move forward when the right conditions such as regulation and the cost of energy enable long-term infrastructure investment," they added. The BBC has approached the government for comment.OpenAI said when announcing its UK data centre project in September it would help strengthen the UK's "sovereign compute capabilities" and bolster its native AI development."This will help power the UK's future economy, boost its global competitiveness and deliver on the country's national AI Opportunities Action Plan," the company wrote.Stargate UK, based at Cobalt, Northumberland, was much smaller than OpenAI's US-based Stargate project - which committed a $500bn investment over four years to build new AI infrastructure.Bu...