Nscale and BT Join Forces to Develop Sovereign AI Data Centers Across the UK
April 23, 2026
AI cloud and data center operator Nscale has entered into a strategic partnership with UK telecommunications giant BT to develop sovereign AI data centers across the country, marking a significant step in bolstering the UK’s digital infrastructure for artificial intelligence workloads. The collaboration underscores the growing importance of domestic, secure computing capacity as governments and enterprises seek to keep sensitive data and AI operations within national borders.
Under the agreement, Nscale plans to build up to 14 megawatts of capacity across three existing BT sites in the UK. BT will provide the underlying infrastructure and connectivity for these facilities, though full details on the specific locations have not been disclosed. The Nvidia-powered infrastructure is designed to deliver new AI services for both the private and public sectors, while also extending the capabilities of BT’s sovereignty platform.
“The development of AI and data center infrastructure is key to unlocking economic growth in the UK, and is only possible with the best, most trusted networks at the foundation,” said Jon James, CEO of BT Business. “Our collaboration with Nscale reflects BT’s unique position as the digital backbone of the UK – the only provider with the scale, capabilities, and experience to enable the nation’s sovereign ambitions.”
Tom Burke, Nscale’s chief revenue officer, added: “Partnering with BT is a major milestone in supporting the UK’s AI ambitions and its position in the global AI economy. Telecommunications have a critical role to play in this shift – you can’t deliver AI at scale without resilient, high-capacity networks as the backbone. Together, BT’s nationwide digital infrastructure and Nscale’s modular, Nvidia-powered AI data center deployment will give organizations access to world-class compute, with the assurance that their data and operations can stay local.”
Nscale already has a presence in the UK, listing a data center in Loughton and a partner facility in Slough. The Loughton site, purchased in early 2025, is currently under construction and has a power capacity of 50 megawatts, scalable to 90 megawatts. It is expected to go live by the end of 2026. Notably, Microsoft is planning to build a supercomputer at the site with more than 23,000 GPUs, and both Microsoft and Google are set to lease capacity from Nscale in the UK. Nscale has previously indicated plans to significantly expand its UK capacity to cater to OpenAI, including developments in Cobalt Park near Newcastle, though OpenAI has since paused its plans for a UK Stargate development, casting uncertainty on whether Nscale will proceed with that expansion.
Beyond the UK, Nscale operates data centers in Norway, Finland, West Virginia, North Carolina, Iceland, Portugal, and Texas. BT’s full data center footprint is less clear, but through its Openreach division, the group operates more than 5,000 telephone exchange and central office locations across the UK. Many of these sites are being closed as part of the shutdown of the UK’s copper network, and BT has been exploring how to adapt its existing real estate—including exchanges, cell tower sites, and radio towers—for potential edge and colocation data center use. The company recently closed a deal to sell its Irish data center business, which included two facilities near Dublin, to Equinix.
This week also saw BT launch its Sovereign Cloud private cloud platform, which will be hosted and operated entirely within the UK. The telco will rely on Rackspace Technology’s UK data center infrastructure, supported by UK-based, security-cleared teams and managed services for migration, operations, and ongoing compliance.
Source: datacenterdynamics
