Stargate, the $500 billion data center mega-project backed by OpenAI, SoftBank and Oracle Corp. to bring artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure to the U.S. the next few years, is eyeing European expansion.
Organizers behind the initiative are considering investing in the U.K., one of OpenAI’s most important international markets, as well as possible forays in France and Germany, according to a Financial Times report.
Unveiled at the White House in late January by President Donald Trump and leaders from the three main tech participants, Stargate was presented as a private sector-led push for AI infrastructure over the next four years. At the time, Trump trumpeted it as “the largest AI infrastructure project by far in history,” boasting that “it’s all taking place right here in America.”
But it is now considering Europe for its next phase of development as it seeks overseas sites for scaling AI amid steep energy demands to power the technology.
Though the focus remains on the U.S., “we want to go where the compute is,” a person close to Stargate told the FT. Germany and France were mentioned as additional candidates for infrastructure development.
Pro-innovation regulatory policies of Prime Minister Keir Starmer, including a pledge to open public data to researchers and creation of designated zones for data centers, has highlighted the UK as a desirable landing spot for Stargate.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has already expressed his preference for expansion in Europe, hinting at a “Stargate Europe.” The company has opened offices in London, Paris, Brussels and Munich.
The UK gambit does come with potential pitfalls, however. The country is beset with an aging electrical grid and a shortage of suitable land, making it difficult to keep pace with demand. Those challenges have prompted warnings from Microsoft Corp. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google, who warn poor infrastructure threatens the competitiveness of the UK’s AI sector.
Nonetheless, overseas expansion seems a natural extension of Stargate as projects mushroom across the world.
Shortly after Trump announced Stargate, the European Union in February said it would commit some $227 billion to building new AI Gigafactories and other projects. The UK government, meanwhile, has vowed to turbocharge data center development by loosening planning restrictions and proactively identifying potential sites.
Additionally, French President Emmanuel Macron announced private sector investments of about $112.5 billion in the AI sector during the Paris AI summit in early February.
