In a significant milestone for Britain’s digital economy, OpenAI has announced plans to expand its UK data hosting capabilities following a landmark partnership with the Ministry of Justice (MoJ). The move will allow British businesses to store their data securely on UK soil for the first time, strengthening the country’s artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystem and advancing the Government’s ambition to make the UK a world leader in responsible AI innovation.
A boost for UK AI adoption
Unveiled by Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy, the new agreement between OpenAI and the Ministry of Justice forms part of the Government’s Plan for Change to boost digital transformation across the economy. The partnership aims to accelerate AI adoption in both the public and private sectors, helping businesses leverage advanced AI tools to improve efficiency, enhance data security and drive productivity.
Thousands of civil servants are already using AI solutions such as ChatGPT to reduce administrative workloads, cutting an estimated 240,000 days of repetitive tasks, and freeing up more time for critical frontline duties. This initiative represents a step change in how AI can be integrated into essential public services to deliver faster, more efficient outcomes.
Data sovereignty and digital resilience
For businesses across the UK, OpenAI’s new UK data hosting offer will enable the secure storage and processing of data on sovereign servers, providing enhanced privacy, accountability and compliance with UK regulatory standards. In an era of increasing global cyber threats, this development is expected to strengthen national resilience and give organisations greater confidence to invest in AI-driven transformation.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman highlighted the rapid uptake of the company’s technology in the UK, noting: “The number of people using our products in the UK has increased fourfold in the past year. It’s exciting to see them using AI to save time, increase productivity and get more done. Civil servants are using ChatGPT to improve public services, and established firms are reimagining operations. We’re proud to continue supporting the UK and the Government’s AI plan.”
Driving growth through digital innovation
The OECD estimates that AI could add between 0.4 and 1.3 percentage points to the UK’s productivity growth, equivalent to up to £140 billion in additional output each year by 2030. In response, the Government has announced several strategic initiatives to unlock this potential, including the creation of the AI Growth Lab, a regulatory sandbox for testing responsible AI innovation, and AI Growth Zones designed to attract private investment and stimulate job creation in key regional hubs.
Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said the partnership marks a major step in building the infrastructure needed to power AI across Britain. “By using AI across our public services, we’re giving key workers more time to focus on delivering better outcomes, reducing admin, and speeding up vital services,” she said.
Building AI infrastructure for the future
OpenAI’s UK expansion follows recent plans to collaborate with NVIDIA and British firm NScale on Stargate UK, a new AI infrastructure platform designed to deploy OpenAI technology on sovereign British infrastructure. The project’s first phase will see up to 8,000 NVIDIA GPUs deployed early next year, with capacity to scale to 31,000 GPUs over time. Cobalt Park in the North East, now designated as an AI Growth Zone, will be one of the primary sites.
Alongside infrastructure investment, the Government is also working with industry to upskill 7.5 million people, a fifth of the UK workforce, in AI by 2030, ensuring that businesses and public sector organisations alike can fully harness the technology’s transformative potential.
As the UK positions itself at the forefront of global AI innovation, OpenAI’s commitment to expanding data hosting capabilities on British soil signals a new era of secure, scalable and sovereign AI for the digital construction sector and beyond.
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