OpenAI and SoftBank Group reportedly want to expand the presence of their $500 billion US project to build out AI infrastructure to additional countries such as the UK, Germany and France.
Out of those three countries, the Financial Times (FT) states the UK is the top choice for the overseas expansion of the Stargate joint venture between OpenAI, SoftBank and Oracle.
The news site credits UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s efforts to expand the country’s investment in AI as the reason for its positioning ahead of Germany and France.
A source told the FT that Stargate wants “to go where the compute is” as the reason behind those three countries being attractive locations.
The FT stated the expansion to the UK is contingent upon the JV being successful in the US.
The JV was unveiled by US President Donald Trump in January. It will initially focus on a data centre project in the US state of Texas before expanding to other states.
Stargate plans to beef up AI infrastructure across the US through an initial investment of up to $100 billion but it could grow to $500 billion over the next four years.