Microsoft Secures Former OpenAI "Stargate" Site in Norway for AI Infrastructure

Microsoft has reached an agreement to lease high performance computing capacity at a data center within the Arctic Circle that was originally intended for OpenAI’s "Stargate" initiative. The deal with neocloud provider Nscale involves the rental of 30,000 NVIDIA Vera Rubin GPUs at a 230 megawatt (MW) campus in Narvik, Norway.

The Narvik facility was initially marketed as a cornerstone of OpenAI’s ambitious Stargate project. However, negotiations between OpenAI and Nscale reportedly concluded without an agreement, allowing Microsoft to expand its existing footprint at the site.

This move follows OpenAI’s recent decision to pause its "Stargate UK" project, which was also being developed in partnership with Nscale. OpenAI cited high energy costs and regulatory uncertainty as primary drivers for the suspension of its British infrastructure plans.

Microsoft’s lease of the 30,000 additional GPUs builds upon a prior $6.2 billion commitment the company made at the Narvik site in late 2025. That initial five year agreement was designed to secure renewable powered AI computing capacity for European customers.

The Nscale Narvik campus is a joint venture with Norwegian industrial investment firm Aker. It leverages Northern Norway’s abundant hydropower and cool climate to support energy intensive AI workloads with lower cooling costs and a zero carbon footprint.

"Customer demand for advanced AI infrastructure continues to accelerate across markets, and our focus is on bringing the latest technology online in the right locations and at real scale," stated Josh Payne, CEO and founder of Nscale.

Jon Tinter, a Microsoft executive, added that the expansion helps ensure that European customers have access to the scalable capacity needed for the next generation of AI workloads.

The Narvik project is part of a broader trend of hyperscalers seeking long term contracts in resource rich regions to balance sustainability targets with exponential compute demand. By utilizing Norway’s stable renewable energy supply, Microsoft and Nscale are positioning the facility as a key asset for Europe’s "sovereign AI" ambitions, reducing reliance on non EU data infrastructure.

As of April 2026, the Narvik site remains one of the largest AI data center projects in the Nordic region, targeting a total deployment of 100,000 NVIDIA GPUs to meet the soaring demand for generative AI training and inference.