Nvidia and OpenAI are in discussions with the United Kingdom government focused on boosting artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure in the country, with sources familiar with the matter telling CNBC the deal could ultimately be worth billions of dollars.
Both companies are reported to be still working through various processes with UK cloud computing firms, and an investment agreement has not yet been finalised.
An announcement is expected to be unveiled next week during U.S. President Donald Trump's state visit to the UK, with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang set to join Trump on his state visit to Britain.
The initiative will be carried out in partnership with London-based operator Nscale Global Holdings, marking one of the largest recent efforts to expand AI and cloud infrastructure in Europe.
Countries around the world have been courting major U.S. AI players in a bid to boost their own national infrastructure and technological ambitions.
The topic of so-called "sovereign" AI - the idea of onshoring the data processing infrastructure behind advanced artificial intelligence systems - has been top of mind for officials as governments look to reduce their dependency on foreign countries for critical technologies.
Tech deals of this magnitude don't happen in isolation, yet the strategic importance of this particular investment extends beyond simple infrastructure development.
Starmer's AI strategy gains momentum
In a marked pivot from the previous government's approach, the UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is throwing the full weight of Whitehall behind AI transformation by agreeing to take forward all 50 recommendations set out by Matt Clifford in his game-changing AI Opportunities Action Plan.
Three major tech companies - Vantage Data Centres, Nscale and Kyndryl - have committed to £14 billion investment in the UK to build the AI infrastructure the UK needs to harness the potential of this technology and deliver 13,250 jobs across the UK.
“The government is committed to building cutting-edge, secure, and sustainable AI infrastructure,” Starmer said,
“We will take forward the recommendation to expand our sovereign compute capacity by at least 20x by 2030 – as compute needs grow, such expansion is critical if the UK is to keep pace.”
Earlier this year, Nvidia boss Huang called the UK an "incredible place to invest" and said his multitrillion-dollar chipmaker would boost investment in the country.
"The U.K. is in a Goldilocks circumstance," Huang said at the time.
The plan includes initiatives that will help make the UK the number one place for AI firms to invest, which is vital if Britain is to be at the forefront of this industry and be a change ‘maker’ rather than a change taker.
Britain faces competition from other European nations also seeking to attract major AI infrastructure investments, with governments across the continent offering incentives to secure next-generation data centre capacity.
