BroadChain has learned that on April 15, CNBC reported OpenAI has abandoned its plan to directly lease computing power from the "Stargate Norway" data center in Narvik, following the suspension of the UK-based Stargate project. The facility, originally under construction by UK-based AI cloud service provider Nscale, was planned to have a capacity of 230 MW.
Sources familiar with the matter indicate that OpenAI had considered leasing roughly half of the facility's computing capacity but ultimately could not reach an agreement with Nscale. The relevant computing resources are now being taken over by Microsoft.
OpenAI stated it is in negotiations with Microsoft to access Norwegian computing resources through Microsoft's cloud services—a move that better aligns with its existing financial arrangements.