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Microsoft Secures Norway AI Data Center Capacity After OpenAI Pullback

The shift highlights OpenAI’s move to rent compute instead of building.

Overview

  • An expanded supply deal announced Wednesday between Microsoft and Nscale adds more than 30,000 Nvidia Vera Rubin GPUs at the Narvik, Norway site after OpenAI ended talks for that capacity.
  • The Narvik agreement runs for five years starting in 2026 and uses 100% renewable power at a 230‑megawatt campus that targets up to 100,000 GPUs at full buildout.
  • OpenAI said it is now seeking access to Narvik through Microsoft’s Azure under its $250 billion commitment because renting makes more financial sense for the company.
  • The Norway change tracks with OpenAI pausing other Stargate projects in the UK and Texas and comes as reports say three leaders tied to Stargate are departing for Meta.
  • Microsoft shares rose about 4.19% on the news, reflecting investor confidence as high power costs and shifting rules steer large AI builds toward established cloud providers.