Microsoft takes Norway capacity
Microsoft agreed to rent data-center capacity in Norway that had been earmarked for OpenAI, stepping into the Stargate project and taking on 30,000 additional Nvidia Vera Rubin chips through provider Nscale. The move follows OpenAI pausing its Stargate plans and comes as Microsoft expands data-center operations in places including Wyoming. (bloomberg.com)
Microsoft has taken over Norwegian data-center capacity that had been lined up for OpenAI, adding more than 30,000 Nvidia Rubin chips through Nscale. (bloomberg.com) (nscale.com) Nscale said on April 14 that its 230-megawatt campus in Narvik, Norway, will add the new chips in 2027 under an expanded Microsoft agreement. The company said the deal builds on Microsoft’s earlier $6.2 billion commitment at the same site. (nscale.com) (finance.yahoo.com) Narvik sits above the Arctic Circle, and Nscale has marketed the campus around cheap hydropower, a cool climate, and room for large power loads. The Norway project was announced in July 2025 as a 100,000-graphics-processing-unit, renewable-powered “Stargate Norway” build with OpenAI and Aker. (nscale.com) A data center is the warehouse behind artificial intelligence services: rows of servers packed with specialized chips that train models and answer user requests. In this case, the scarce asset is not just land but power, cooling, and access to Nvidia’s newest systems. (nscale.com 1) (nscale.com 2) The switch shows how quickly artificial-intelligence infrastructure can be reassigned when a customer slows down and another still needs capacity. Bloomberg reported that OpenAI had paused parts of its Stargate buildout before Microsoft stepped in at the Norway site. (bloomberg.com) Microsoft is expanding elsewhere at the same time. On April 14, the company said it plans to buy about 3,200 acres in Cheyenne, Wyoming, for another data-center development, adding to a local footprint that dates to 2012. (news.microsoft.com) (datacenterdynamics.com) Microsoft said the Wyoming project starts a multiyear process with public hearings and that it has committed more than $68 million to off-site infrastructure in Cheyenne. The company also said its utility arrangement requires Microsoft to pay for the power infrastructure needed to serve its load. (news.microsoft.com) For OpenAI, the Norway change is another sign that “Stargate” is not one fixed campus but a shifting set of computing deals, partners, and locations. For Microsoft, it means more capacity is moving under its control as demand for cloud-based artificial intelligence keeps rising in Europe and the United States. (bloomberg.com) (nscale.com)
