GoKawiilOpenAI's Stargate project in the U.K. is being paused, with the company pointing towards the cost of energy and the country's regulatory environment.
The U.S. AI startup announced plans for the major infrastructure project in September, saying it would deploy up to 8,000 GPUs in partnership with Nscale and Nvidia . Politico first reported on Wednesday that the project was on hold.
"We continue to explore Stargate U.K. and will move forward when the right conditions such as regulation and the cost of energy enable long-term infrastructure investment," an OpenAI spokesperson told CNBC in a statement.
Industrial energy prices in the U.K. are among the highest in the world. Critics of the U.K.'s AI infrastructure buildout previously told CNBC the high cost of energy and delays in accessing the national grid were key stumbling blocks.
Lawmakers in the U.K are also looking to develop new regulations around how AI models use copyrighted work.
Nscale declined to comment when approached by CNBC about the project being paused. Nvidia has been approached for comment.
OpenAI and Nscale are still in discussions about the project in the future, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told CNBC.