Microsoft takes Stargate Norway capacity

Microsoft has agreed to rent more artificial intelligence computing capacity at a Norway data-center campus that had been lined up for OpenAI’s Stargate project. (bloomberg.com) The added capacity is at Nscale’s 230-megawatt campus in Narvik, inside the Arctic Circle, and includes more than 30,000 Nvidia Rubin graphics processing units planned for 2027, Nscale said on April 14. (nscale.com) Bloomberg reported that the Narvik capacity had originally been intended for OpenAI and marketed under the Stargate name before Microsoft stepped in as the renter. (finance.yahoo.com) Stargate is OpenAI’s infrastructure brand for building giant clusters of chips and power so it can train and run artificial intelligence models at scale. OpenAI and SoftBank said in January 2025 that Stargate planned to invest up to $500 billion in United States artificial intelligence infrastructure over four years. (openai.com; group.softbank) OpenAI brought the Stargate name to Norway on July 31, 2025, when it said Narvik would be its first European data-center initiative under the OpenAI for Countries program. OpenAI said then that the site was planned for 230 megawatts of initial capacity, with an ambition to expand by another 290 megawatts and reach 100,000 Nvidia graphics processing units by the end of 2026. (openai.com) Microsoft was already a major customer at the site before this week’s expansion. In September 2025, Nscale and Aker said they had signed a five-year agreement worth about $6.2 billion to provide Microsoft with artificial intelligence compute capacity from Narvik starting in 2026. (prnewswire.com) The reshuffle comes after Microsoft and OpenAI loosened the terms of their relationship. Microsoft said in January 2025 that OpenAI’s new capacity would move from Microsoft exclusivity to a right-of-first-refusal model, allowing OpenAI to build additional infrastructure elsewhere while giving Microsoft the first option to supply it. (blogs.microsoft.com) OpenAI has also paused at least one other Stargate-branded project in Europe. CNBC reported on April 9 that OpenAI halted its United Kingdom Stargate project, citing energy prices and regulatory concerns, while saying it would keep exploring the market. (cnbc.com) For Microsoft, the Norway deal adds more scarce Nvidia capacity at a site already tied to its cloud buildout. For OpenAI, it is another sign that the company’s Stargate plans in Europe are moving more slowly than the Narvik launch suggested last summer. (nscale.com; openai.com; cnbc.com)