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OpenAI's 'Stargate UK' project questioned over lack of site visits and hypothetical investment

From The Guardian · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources New plan
  • OpenAI's planned "Stargate UK" datacentre project, initially touted as a major UK-US tech initiative, appears to have been largely hypothetical.
  • Investigations reveal OpenAI may not have visited key project sites, and a significant portion of the claimed investment was "potential" rather than secured.
  • The project's pause in April, citing regulatory and energy cost concerns, now faces scrutiny over its initial announcement and the government's role in promoting it.

OpenAI's ambitious "Stargate UK" datacentre project, envisioned as a multibillion-pound undertaking and a cornerstone of US-UK technological cooperation, is facing serious questions regarding its viability and the extent of its planning. The project, intended to be OpenAI's largest in Britain, was paused in April due to regulatory and high energy cost concerns.

They needed a big announcement

— Source with knowledge of the processSuggesting the government's motivation for announcing the Stargate UK project.

However, a recent investigation by The Guardian suggests that the project's foundation may have been weaker than initially presented. Sources indicate that OpenAI may not have visited one of the key proposed sites for the datacentre in Cobalt Park, North Tyneside. Furthermore, approximately £20 billion of the "potential" £30 billion investment promoted by the UK government appears to have been speculative rather than concrete.

This situation raises concerns that "Stargate UK" was primarily a government public relations effort, designed to coincide with former US President Donald Trump's visit to the UK last year. The project was announced amid a series of high-profile US-UK tech deals, echoing OpenAI's "Stargate AI" project in the US, which promised a $500 billion investment. In contrast, Stargate UK's ambitions involved collaboration with UK firm Nscale and AI chip maker Nvidia.

Nscale were pretty much told to back the Stargate project, and it caught them completely unaware. It was never really a thing. It was effectively just a government PR stunt, and [the OpenAI chief executive] Sam Altman took the hit when the plug got pulled.

— Source with knowledge of the processDescribing the perceived lack of genuine substance behind the Stargate UK project.

Freedom of information requests revealed that neither OpenAI nor Nscale met with local authorities at the proposed Cobalt Park site. Only Nvidia reportedly engaged with the North East combined authority. A source suggested that Nscale was "pretty much told to back the Stargate project," catching them by surprise and indicating the initiative "was never really a thing." The findings suggest that a centerpiece of US-UK AI cooperation may have been little more than a press release, with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman bearing the brunt when the project was halted.

We see huge potential for the UK’s AI future … 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

— OpenAI spokespersonOpenAI's statement regarding the pause and future exploration of the Stargate UK project.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by The Guardian in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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