OpenAI's Stargate UK Project Under Scrutiny
The Guardian can reveal that OpenAI does not appear to have visited one of Stargate UK's key sites, and that £20bn of the 'potential' £30bn in investment touted by the UK government appears to have been totally hypothetical. These findings raise questions about one of the most-hyped UK AI developments and suggest a centrepiece of US-UK AI cooperation was little more than a press release.
Background and Announcement
Stargate UK was announced last year amid a flurry of high-gloss US-UK tech deals that accompanied Donald Trump's September visit to London. It echoed the Stargate AI project in the US, where OpenAI promised to invest $500bn. OpenAI was to work with Nscale, which is building a supercomputer in Essex, and Nvidia to develop infrastructure at sites across Britain. The most prominent site was a planned datacentre at Cobalt Park in North Tyneside, designated as an 'AI growth zone' during the US president's visit.
Lack of Engagement with Local Authorities
A freedom of information request shows that neither OpenAI nor Nscale ever met with local authorities at the site in North Tyneside. Only Nvidia appears to have visited the North East combined authority, which oversaw the Stargate UK site, doing so in February 2026, five months after Trump's visit. John Johnsson, leader of the Conservatives in North Tyneside, said: 'When it was announced, we were really, really taken aback. We were surprised because we weren't made aware of any of these discussions. All of a sudden, there's all of this pizazz and these great big things announced.'
Hypothetical Investment Figures
In its press release, the government said the AI growth zone was 'set to' bring in £30bn in investment. Of this, £10bn was 'committed' by Blackstone for a separate datacentre. After that, there was 'potential for an additional £20bn in investment from future partners'. When asked how the £20bn figure was calculated, the government said the number represented the totality of potential investment the site could attract. In response to Spotlight on Corruption, the government said the figure was given because the site would need £20bn to build a datacentre and obtain computing power necessary to utilise its electricity supply of 1.1GW. Kamila Kingstone, a senior campaigner at Spotlight on Corruption, said: 'It is disingenuous for the government to imply that the £20bn for the AI growth zone will be forthcoming, when it reflects the amount needed.'
Infrastructure Concerns
Other doubts hang over Stargate UK. An FoI request from the UK's National Energy System Operator suggests the site did not have a grid connection, instead submitting an alternative solution to power itself, which was redacted. Johnsson added: 'There's just not the infrastructure there to be able to actually support it. It's now looking highly unlikely whether the project is going to come to North Tyneside. The fundamentals, energy costs, grid capacity and infrastructure do not appear to have been in place to support a project of this scale. It's really disappointing. It did have a feeling of: this is too good to be true.'
Government Response
A spokesperson for the government said: 'The government is determined to create the right conditions for investment in the UK's AI and datacentre infrastructure, and on the delivery of our AI growth zones, with work now well under way in the north-east. A dedicated taskforce co-chaired by the technology secretary and Kim McGuinness is driving forward planning, investment and skills for the region. The North East AI growth zone will increase its energy capacity to 1.1GW once fully operational, with over 400MW of this capacity to come online in 2028.'
