Microsoft Pulls Out of Nscale's UK Data Centre Deal; 23,000 Nvidia Chips in Limbo as Grid Power Waits Until the 2030s
Microsoft has pulled out of a data center deal with British SI cloud provider Nscale in Loughton, Essex, Britain's Telegraph newspaper reported on Sunday, October 18, a decision Reuters also reported. Microsoft had been the anchor tenant, committed to renting more than 23,000 Nvidia SI chips (23,040 GB300 units) at the £2 billion facility, billed as the UK's largest "sovereign" SI data centre. It was the site's only announced customer, and its withdrawal leaves the project in limbo. Microsoft declined a Reuters request for comment.
The Telegraph reported that National Grid officials had told Nscale it did not expect a power supply for the data center until the 2030s, while the facility was originally expected to begin delivering capacity in early 2027. An Nscale spokesperson told Reuters: "Our relationship with Microsoft remains strong and long-term, and this unfortunate London-wide grid issue has no impact on our other contracts," adding that the company remains committed to Loughton and is exploring alternative power sources.
The Loughton project was announced in September 2025 during President Trump's state visit to Britain as part of a flurry of U.S.-UK technology deals. The timing is awkward for Nscale, which filed for a U.S. listing last month targeting a valuation of about $35 billion, touting more than $103 billion in total contracted value; its other Microsoft projects in the United States, Portugal and Norway are unaffected. (GSM, based on Reuters reporting)
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：数据中心机房（资料图，非该项目现场）。图片来源：Wikimedia Commons，CC BY-SA 3.0。Photo: Data center server room (file photo, not the project site). Source: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
