The UK’s artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystem has received a significant boost with cloud provider Ori selecting Kao Data’s Harlow campus for its first AI cloud region in the country. The partnership positions Ori as the first AI cloud provider to deploy NVIDIA’s latest H200 GPUs in the UK, reinforcing the nation’s role in the global AI infrastructure race.
Expanding AI compute capabilities
This collaboration provides Ori’s customers with access to cutting-edge GPU clusters designed for AI and deep learning applications. Hosted within Kao Data’s NVIDIA DGX-Ready data centre, the deployment offers industrial-scale compute capacity powered by 100 per cent certified renewable energy. As the UK continues to develop its AI capabilities, investments in high-performance computing (HPC) infrastructure are crucial to supporting the surge in AI adoption across sectors.
Mahdi Yahya, founder and CEO of Ori, said the company sought a data centre provider that could match its scalability, performance and sustainability requirements. “Kao Data’s Harlow campus offers the perfect mix of high-density infrastructure, renewable energy, and proximity to London and Cambridge’s thriving AI ecosystems,” he said. “As demand for AI continues to accelerate, it was imperative to find a specialist data centre operator that truly understands the needs of AI and can support our GPU-powered cloud.”
The UK’s AI ambitions rely heavily on the availability of high-performance infrastructure to train and run increasingly complex models. The deployment of NVIDIA’s H200 Tensor Core GPUs at Kao Data provides substantial computing power, enhancing capabilities for AI training, inference and large language models (LLMs). The introduction of the next-generation NVIDIA GB200 architecture in April 2025 is expected to further strengthen Ori’s position in the AI infrastructure market.
The UK’s growing AI landscape
The partnership also highlights the UK’s evolving AI landscape, as the government pushes forward initiatives to accelerate AI adoption. The AI Opportunities Action Plan and the planned AI Growth Zones (AIGZs) aim to position the UK as a leader in AI innovation, with regions like the Cambridge-London Innovation Corridor emerging as key investment hubs. Ori’s expansion into Harlow aligns with these strategic objectives, providing AI developers and enterprises with the compute power needed to drive innovation.
Spencer Lamb, chief commercial officer at Kao Data, underscored the significance of the partnership. “Ori’s decision to host its AI cloud infrastructure at our Harlow campus reflects the increasing need for specialist, high-performance data centre environments in the UK,” he said. “This deployment highlights the UK’s role in the global AI ecosystem and demonstrates how investment in world-class infrastructure can sustain the country’s position at the forefront of AI development.”
As AI continues to reshape industries, the ability to access scalable, high-density compute resources will be a defining factor in the UK’s competitiveness. While major cloud providers dominate the global AI infrastructure landscape, the emergence of AI-focused cloud platforms such as Ori signals a shift towards specialised, high-performance environments tailored to AI’s growing demands.
With the UK government prioritising AI-driven growth, strategic investments in compute capacity and energy-efficient infrastructure will be critical. Ori’s decision to establish its first UK AI cloud region at Kao Data marks an important step in bridging the gap between AI aspirations and the technical resources needed to realise them. As AI adoption accelerates, partnerships between cloud providers and data centre specialists will play a key role in shaping the UK’s AI future.
