OpenAI Pauses UK Stargate Data Centers, Leases London Office

OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, has paused its ambitious Stargate UK data center project in northeast England, citing high energy costs and regulatory challenges as key barriers, even as the company advances plans for its first permanent office in London.

The decision to shelve the Stargate initiative, announced last week, affects a proposed network of sites including Cobalt Park near Newcastle and the town of Blyth in Northumberland, designated as an AI growth zone. The project was part of a broader $31 billion technology agreement between the United States and Britain, unveiled in September during President Donald Trump's second state visit. It aimed to deploy thousands of graphics processing units through partnerships with companies such as Nscale and Nvidia, with long-term goals of scaling to 31,000 GPUs to support AI applications in sectors like finance and national security. OpenAI stated that the pause is temporary, with exploration continuing until conditions improve for long-term infrastructure investment.

High industrial electricity prices in the UK, among the steepest globally, have been exacerbated by the country's reliance on gas-fired power and volatile wholesale...