Microsoft Acquires Stargate Data Center in Norway from OpenAI
Detailed Analysis
Microsoft Secures Data Center Capacity in Norway, OpenAI's Stargate Plans Put on Hold
Microsoft Corp. has agreed to rent additional data center capacity at a site in Norway that was initially intended for OpenAI and marketed as part of the artificial intelligence company's Stargate initiative. The company will rent 30,000 additional Nvidia Corp. Vera Rubin chips from neocloud provider Nscale at a campus inside the arctic circle in Narvik, Norway.
This move builds on a prior $6.2 billion commitment Microsoft made at the same site. However, OpenAI had initially been in talks for capacity to run its artificial intelligence workloads at the campus, but didn't conclude an agreement with Nscale. The company had marketed it as "Stargate Norway" in a statement last year, a reference to its planned $500 billion joint venture investment in US infrastructure to power the next era of AI.
| Company | Data Center Capacity | Location | | --- | --- | --- | | Microsoft | 30,000 Nvidia Vera Rubin chips | Narvik, Norway | | Google | Nvidia Grace Blackwell chips | West London | | OpenAI | Paused Stargate project | UK | | OpenAI | Exploring agreement for capacity | Norway |
OpenAI's plan to pause its Stargate project in the UK, and its failure to strike a deal with Nscale in Norway, mark a contrast from the AI giant's previously signaled infrastructure plans. After a series of splashy announcements in recent years, OpenAI appears to be taking a more cautious approach to its rising server farm costs. The company told investors in February that it would spend about $600 billion on infrastructure by 2030 — a more specific figure than the $1.4 trillion in long-range commitments it had previously telegraphed.
Microsoft has cut a number of deals with neocloud providers, such as Nscale, as the company moves swiftly to get data centers online to meet demand. Last month, Microsoft announced it would take over a project in Texas that was originally being developed for OpenAI and Oracle Corp. The company's efforts to expand its data center capacity are expected to continue, with Wall Street expecting Microsoft to spend $143 billion this year on capital expenditures, largely tied to data center development.
