Global investment in Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) and AI chip infrastructure has exceeded $1 trillion (£755bn) since the generative AI boom began in 2023. This surge is driven by AI's demand for larger data centres, with lenders increasingly financing these costly GPUs, which can rival the price of the data centre buildings themselves.
A single high-end GPU can cost between $20,000 and $30,000 and consumes approximately one kilowatt of power. Law firm Clifford Chance partners Emma Matebalavu and Matt Dunn describe GPU financing as "the big trend" currently.
In Britain, Nvidia reportedly invested up to £11bn last September, aiming for the UK to host Europe's largest GPU cluster by the end of this year. However, power availability remains a significant constraint for data centre investment.
Britain's demand connection queue for the grid jumped from 41GW in November 2024 to 125GW by June 2025, according to Ofgem. Prime Minister Andy Burnham unveiled Great British Grid last month, a publicly owned arm of Great British Energy, intended to challenge existing network operators and accelerate business connections.
While traditional European data centre hubs like Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam, Paris, and Dublin remain important, Milan, Madrid, and Scandinavia have seen increased activity. Scandinavia is particularly buoyant due to its access to renewable power sources such as hydroelectric power in Norway and wind and nuclear power in Finland.