Thomas Daniels
In a move underscoring both strategic calculation and geopolitical foresight, Nvidia has pledged $683 million to Nscale, a United Kingdom‑based AI infrastructure company spun out of cryptocurrency miner Arkon Energy in May 2024.
According to reports, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang described the investment as a central component of efforts to scale the UK’s AI infrastructure. Under the partnership, Nscale is expected to deploy up to 60,000 Nvidia GPUs in its UK data centres by 2026, significantly expanding capacity for AI cloud services across Europe.
The timing aligns with the UK government’s broader policy agenda: Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s administration introduced the AI Opportunities Action Plan in January 2025, outlining 50 targeted recommendations aimed at accelerating AI adoption, scaling compute infrastructure, easing regulatory pathways, and reinforcing national sovereignty in AI capabilities.
Josh Payne, CEO of Nscale, framed the investment as critical to building “sovereign AI infrastructure,” which he described as essential for national resilience, strategic autonomy, and long-term economic competitiveness.
