This Week’s Top 5 Stories in AI

Inside OpenAI and Nvidia’s US$100bn AI Infrastructure Deal

As AI infrastructure deals bloom across the world with increasing AI demand, OpenAI and Nvidia announce a partnership to deploy 10 gigawatts of GPU-powered data centres. 

The agreement includes Nvidia’s commitment to invest up to US$100bn in OpenAI as infrastructure capacity comes online.

The partnership targets deployment of systems dedicated to AI model training and inference operations. 

Gigawatts measure electrical power capacity, with 10GW representing sufficient energy to power approximately 7.5 million homes simultaneously. 

The first phase deployment is scheduled for the second half of 2026 using Nvidia’s Vera Rubin platform.

Jensen Huang, Founder and CEO of Nvidia, says: “Nvidia and OpenAI have pushed each other for a decade, from the first DGX supercomputer to the breakthrough of ChatGPT.

“This investment and infrastructure partnership mark the next leap forward – deploying 10GW to power the next era of intelligence.”

OpenAI, Oracle & SoftBank’s Five Site Stargate Expansion

In the rush of data centre investment to maintain global AI demand, OpenAI, Oracle and SoftBank are now announcing five new US data centre locations under the Stargate AI infrastructure programme.

From Texas to Norway, Stargate is rolling out worldwide – pushing total investment beyond US$400bn and bringing planned capacity to nearly seven gigawatts.

The expansion puts the partnership ahead of schedule to complete its full US$500bn, 10-gigawatt commitment by the end of 2025. 

Originally announced in January at the White House, Stargate is one of the technology sector’s most ambitious infrastructure projects.

These five sites mark the first wave of selections, with additional US locations planned as the partnership expands.

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, says that “AI can only fulfil its promise if we build the compute to power it.

“That compute is the key to ensuring everyone can benefit from AI and to unlocking future breakthroughs.”

Salesforce’s $6bn AI Plan Makes UK a European Innovation Hub

Salesforce has revealed its plans to funnel an additional US$6bn into its UK operations through 2030, positioning the UK as the cornerstone of its European AI innovation strategy.

The investment, which doubles the company's previous US$4bn commitment from 2023, builds upon the successful launch of Salesforce's first AI centre in London.

This move reinforces the company's dedication to accelerating AI adoption across UK and European enterprises.

“We are doubling down on our long-standing commitment to the UK with this significant investment,” says Marc Benioff, Chair, CEO and Co-Founder of Salesforce.

“We're delighted that the UK, already a vital talent and innovation centre, will become our AI hub for Europe, driving product innovation for customers across the region.”

Salesforce’s global AI strategy centres on technologies like Data Cloud and Agentforce, enabling businesses to evolve into ‘Agentic Enterprises’ where AI agents work alongside human employees to enhance productivity and create new revenue streams.

US-UK AI Deal: Microsoft & Nvidia Lead $39bn Tech Investment

A landmark US$38.7bn technology agreement between the US and the UK has positioned AI development and quantum computing at the heart of future bilateral cooperation, attracting substantial investments from leading technology companies.

The ‘Tech Prosperity Deal’ establishes a framework for enhanced collaboration in AI research and development, with major commitments from tech giants including Microsoft, Nvidia, Google and CoreWeave.

Microsoft’s US$27.5bn investment is the cornerstone of this agreement. A sizeable part of Microsoft's investment will be used to establish the UK's most advanced AI supercomputer to date.

The project, developed in partnership with OpenAI and UK-based Nscale, will be located in Loughton, near London.

“We want to ensure that America remains a trusted and reliable tech partner for Britain,” says Satya Nadella, Microsoft's Chair & CEO.

The Spotify Boycott: AI Ethics and Music Industry Reckoning

Musicians are pulling their catalogues from Spotify following revelations that CEO Daniel Ek is investing in Helsing, a German military technology company developing AI systems for defence applications. 

The boycott shows the growing tensions between artists and the Swedish streaming platform over both ethical concerns and economic grievances.

Massive Attack led the charge by directly criticising Daneil before requesting removal of their music. 

The electronic duo published a statement addressing the CEO’s investment activities.

“In light of the (reported) significant investments by its CEO in a company producing military munition drones and AI technology integrated into fighter aircraft, Massive Attack have made a request to our label that our music be removed from the Spotify Streaming service in all territories,” the band states.

The group also referenced broader geopolitical concerns in their statement: “In our view the historic precedent of effective artist action during apartheid South Africa and the apartheid, war crimes and genocide now being committed by the state of Israel renders the ’No Music For Genocide’ campaign imperative,” they add.