Ark Data Centres has announced a strategic, long-term partnership with Nebius, a prominent AI infrastructure company. This collaboration will see the installation of one of the UK’s first deployments of NVIDIA Blackwell Ultra GPUs at Ark’s Longcross Park campus in Surrey.
The initial rollout will feature 4,000 of these cutting-edge GPUs, creating a powerful AI compute cluster aimed at supporting UK start-ups, research institutions, enterprises, and public-sector bodies — including the NHS — to develop and scale artificial intelligence using the most advanced computing technology available.
The GPU deployment aligns closely with the UK government’s AI Opportunities Action Plan, which aims to expand the nation’s domestic AI compute capacity. Beyond bolstering the capabilities of UK AI developers, the infrastructure supplied by Nebius is expected to stimulate job creation and attract additional investment into the country’s burgeoning AI sector.
Under the terms of the agreement, Nebius will occupy purpose-built, liquid-ready data hall capacity at Longcross Park, a facility designed from the ground up for high-density AI workloads. The campus offers the high power density, advanced cooling systems, low-latency connectivity, and sustainability features necessary to support next-generation accelerators, ensuring the infrastructure can meet the demands of rapidly evolving AI applications.
“Partnering with Ark provides us with access to an environment built specifically for the next wave of GPU innovation, equipped with the infrastructure needed to support today’s highly intensive AI cloud workloads. By locating compute resources close to the UK’s leading start-ups, enterprises, researchers, and public-sector innovators, we can help them move faster from initial ideas to tangible implementation,” said Andrey Korolenko, Chief Product and Infrastructure Officer at Nebius.
This new GPU cluster will showcase Ark’s ability to support demanding AI workloads, leveraging high-efficiency cooling, resilient power systems, and dedicated on-site power generation—capabilities that many legacy data centres struggle to deliver at scale.
“AI clouds require sites capable of delivering high-density cooling today and scaling rapidly for tomorrow’s demands. Longcross Park was engineered precisely for that purpose, and we are proud to welcome Nebius as a key AI tenant in the UK. This partnership demonstrates that the UK already has the necessary infrastructure to support global AI innovation and underscores our commitment to investing £7.5 billion in new, AI-ready capacity across the country to underpin the UK’s AI future,” said Huw Owen, CEO of Ark Data Centres.
Nebius’s first investment in the UK marks a significant milestone in its global buildout of AI infrastructure. With this deployment, Nebius will operate seven AI clusters across six countries in Europe, the US, and the Middle East, positioning it as one of the largest independent AI infrastructure providers worldwide.
The company’s deployment of thousands of NVIDIA Blackwell Ultra GPUs in the UK is expected to be operational by Q4 2025, enabling local AI innovation at scale and further cementing the UK’s position as a global hub for AI development.
