BT Teams Up With Nscale to Accelerate Sovereign AI in the U.K.

In Focus

• BT and Nscale will set up AI data centers in three locations
• The data centers will utilize NVIDIA AI chips
• The partnership allows BT to monetize its existing connectivity infrastructure

U.K.’s BT Group has partnered with Nscale to set up AI infrastructure in three locations. The two companies will use NVIDIA’s advanced chips in the data centers. Through the Nscale AI data centers, BT will expand sovereign data services to enterprises and the public sector.

How Much AI Capacity is BT Building?

BT’s AI data centers are expected to generate 14 megawatts of compute capacity to support locally controlled AI in the U.K. Sovereign computing allows countries to control their own AI infrastructure.

BT introduced its data residency platform in December 2025 in response to growing demand for higher resilience. The platform stores and processes data in the U.K. BT’s digital sovereignty portfolio included cloud services, connectivity, voice, and AI services.

“This investment in new AI data centers ‌will give businesses and ​public services the tools ​they need to ​use AI at scale here in the UK,” U.K’s ​AI Minister, Kanishka Narayan noted as cited by Reuters.

BT to Provide Infrastructure in New Data Centers

Under the partnership with Nscale, BT will provide the infrastructure and connectivity in the three facilities. The partnership expands BT’s data localization platform to provide new AI services to enterprises and the public sector, facilitating regulatory compliance, security and data residency.

BT runs the U.K.’s fixed telecom network under its Openreach unit. The company has physical infrastructure spread across the country. Placing AI data centers alongside its existing exchange and switching sites allows Nscale to provide low-latency computing near the company’s fibre network, avoiding delays and limiting the need for new investment.

The partnership with Nscale presents an opportunity for BT to monetize the assets in its existing network as demand for AI grows. By utilizing its current infrastructure, which was originally built for voice and broadband, for computing, BT will be creating an additional revenue stream.

The Nscale Advantage

Founded in 2024, Nscale runs its own ‌data centers in the U.K. The AI startup also works closely with the British government to build AI infrastructure. Last year, Nscale teamed with OpenAI and NVIDIA to launch the Stargate project in the U.K. The project is designed to support local AI workloads using advanced NVIDIA GPUs in its U.K. data centres.

Nscale is also working with Microsoft to develop what is expected to be the U.K.’s largest AI supercomputer. The facility, which is located at its AI campus in Loughton, Essex, will have an initial capacity of 50MW. The companies plan to scale the output to 90MW.

Separately, Nscale has signed a $14 billion agreement with Microsoft to supply GPU infrastructure, covering around 200,000 NVIDIA GB300 chips across sites in the U.S., Portugal, and Norway. The BT Nscale AI data center deal positions the AI startup as a leading U.K.-based alternative to major U.S cloud providers.