Global law firm Ashurst is advising UK-based technology company AI Pathfinder on its programme to deliver up to 2GW of sovereign AI supercomputing capacity across the UK. As announced by the UK Government, this forms a critical part of investment under the UK-US Tech Prosperity Deal.
AI Pathfinder's first UK deployment is scheduled for December 2025 in Northamptonshire with planned investment of up to £3.4bn. The initial phase includes the Dell AI Factory with NVIDIA, a comprehensive and secure AI solution, able to handle complex workloads across the healthcare & advanced logistics sector. As part of its long-term vision, AI Pathfinder plans to invest £15bn in West Scotland, beginning with an initial investment from 2026 that will see the start of operations at its North Ayrshire site with significant planned GPU deployment. This 1GW site is expected to scale into one of the largest AI infrastructure hubs in Europe, with the future potential to expand to 1.5GW.
Commenting on the project, real estate partner Lee Foxcroft said, "We are proud to support AI Pathfinder on this landmark programme to deliver sovereign AI infrastructure in the UK. Sovereign capability is becoming essential as organisations accelerate AI adoption. Bringing together land, power and cutting edge technology at this scale is complex, and our team is thrilled to help enable an initiative that will underpin secure, high performance AI while driving investment and innovation across the regions."
The Ashurst cross-disciplinary team is led by real estate partner Lee Foxcroft, with support from senior associate Michael Condlyffe. The broader team includes corporate partner Chris Grey, along with associates Patrick Chambers and Calum Thornton. Tax advice is provided by partners Tim Gummer and Sara Mardell, counsel Sophie Lloyd, and associate Oliver Passmore. Competition matters are being led by partner Steven Vaz, supported by senior associate Emile Abdul-Wahab. Partners Rebecca Clarke and Fiona Ghosh are leading from the digital economy team, assisted by counsel Aaron Cole. Construction advice is led by partner Chris Whitehouse, planning by partner Charlie Reid and employment matters are handled by Crowley Woodford.
