Stargate Eyes the UK: OpenAI’s $500B Pivot and What It Means for Europe’s AI Future
OpenAI’s Stargate project was supposed to anchor American dominance in AI infrastructure. But its next move might turn the UK into the center of a transatlantic power play.
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What happens when a $500B AI bet starts scanning the globe for backup plans?
You get Stargate 2.0.
And its next stop might be the UK.
OpenAI and SoftBank’s massive AI infrastructure initiative, code-named “Stargate”, was announced with patriotic flair in January 2025. A $100B Phase 1 rollout in Texas. A $500B moonshot over four years. Jobs, power, sovereignty.
But now, quietly, a shift is underway.
According to the Financial Times, the Stargate team is scouting sites in the UK, Germany, and France. On paper, it’s just due diligence. In practice, it could mark the beginning of a strategic diversification.
Because while Stargate was born in Texas, it might be reborn in Europe.
Strategic Rationale for UK Expansion
The United Kingdom may not be the first place you'd expect a $500B AI cluster.
But it offers a rare combination of geopolitical safety, research density, and infrastructure-readiness:
1. Talent Gravity
30% of Europe’s AI researchers are in the UK.
That’s not a stat, it’s a talent moat.
Oxford, Cambridge, DeepMind, Britain has been producing frontier AI work for decades.
2. Regulatory Flexibility
The UK sits outside the EU AI Act.
That gives Stargate more room to operate compared to navigating the increasingly strict European Union framework.
Think of it as “regulatory arbitrage” without losing proximity to the EU.
3. Grid-Enabled Growth Zones
The UK government isn’t sitting still.
Their “AI Opportunities Action Plan” includes Growth Zones with priority access to power and permitting.
In a world where AI infrastructure bottlenecks on energy access, this is a differentiator.
But There’s a Bigger Backstory
This isn’t happening in a vacuum.
Stargate is late.
The Abilene site in Texas was described as “empty and incomplete” just last year.
Subcontractor delays. Supply chain issues.
OpenAI lost $5B in 2024 and is expected to lose $14B in 2025, even with rising revenue.
Meanwhile, Europe is rising.
France: Secured €109B in AI infra deals from Brookfield, Iliad, and others.
Germany: Building national AI hubs, backed by the EU’s “AI Continent” master plan.
MGX, one of Stargate’s backers, is already doubling down in France.
If OpenAI doesn’t plant its flag now, someone else will.
This Isn’t Just Expansion. It’s Positioning.
By exploring the UK, Stargate isn’t pivoting away from the US.
It’s future-proofing.
This is a geopolitical balancing act:
Access European markets without being tied to EU regulation.
Tap UK talent without sacrificing global optionality.
Pressure US regulators and suppliers to move faster, or risk losing leadership.
It’s not defection. It’s leverage.
The $5 Trillion Signal
If you think $500B is the final form, think again.
In February, Sam Altman mused about a future $5 trillion AI infrastructure raise.
Whether that’s hubris or vision, it tells us one thing:
We’re in the early innings of an AI infrastructure arms race.
And Stargate is being built not just as a data center initiative, but as a system of control.
Where it builds next will shape:
Which countries anchor AI talent
Who controls AI economic gains
What regions dominate the future internet of intelligence
The Bottom Line
The UK wasn’t supposed to be part of Stargate’s story.
Now it might be the sequel.
If OpenAI follows through, Britain could find itself at the center of a new AI power map, one that stretches from Texas to Cambridge to Frankfurt.
And for infrastructure investors, policymakers, and strategists watching the next frontier unfold…
This is your early signal.
One More Thing
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