By Aisha Down
Publication Date: 2026-03-09 14:40:00
A Guardian investigation has found that a multi-billion dollar initiative to “infuse AI into the veins” of the UK economy is riddled with “phantom investments” and shaky accounting.
Since 2024, successive Conservative and Labor governments have announced major deals to build new data centers, create thousands of jobs and build a supercomputer.
The investments – led by two firms linked to AI giant Nvidia – were touted as a cornerstone of the government’s pledge to boost the economy using technology.
On Monday, former British deputy prime minister Sir Nick Clegg and Meta’s former chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg were announced as new board members at one of the companies, NScale. Nscale also said it closed a $2 billion funding round, increasing the company’s valuation to $14.6 billion.
But a Guardian investigation has shown the money isn’t necessarily real, the data centers may not be new, the jobs are missing – and the supercomputer site 12 miles north of London is still…
