DENVER & LUXEMBOURG--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 13, 2026--
Vantage Data Centers, a leading global provider of hyperscale data center campuses, and Nebius (Nasdaq: NBIS), the AI cloud company, today announced an agreement to deploy high-density, NVIDIA-powered AI infrastructure at Vantage’s CWL1 campus in Newport, Wales. The deployment represents the first announced commercial capacity commitment in the South Wales AI Growth Zone and will support growing UK demand for domestic AI compute capacity.
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Under the agreement, Nebius will lease high-density capacity at CWL1 to support AI training, inference, agentic AI and enterprise AI workloads, serving enterprises, researchers, startups and public sector organizations seeking access to advanced AI infrastructure.
This capacity is part of Nebius’ broader UK expansion and commitment to scale domestic AI compute capacity. In June, the company announced approximately £1.7 billion of committed capacity buildout across four UK sites. The company’s UK infrastructure buildout leverages NVIDIA’s latest full-stack, end-to-end DSXAI factory reference design and supports the UK Government’s AI Opportunities Action Plan.
The agreement builds on Vantage’s long-standing presence in Newport and reinforces the role hyperscale data centers play in enabling the UK’s AI economy. Operational since 2010 and one of Europe’s largest data center campuses, the CWL1 campus provides the scale, connectivity and power infrastructure required for high-density AI workloads and serves a diverse base of hyperscale, enterprise and public sector customers. Its electricity consumption is matched with 100% certified renewable energy, and its newest facilities are designed to minimize operational water consumption through a closed-loop cooling system that recirculates water rather than evaporating it, supported by air-cooled chillers and the use of free cooling when ambient conditions permit to reduce energy consumption.
CWL1 is part of Vantage’s multi-billion-pound investment strategy across South Wales, where the company expects to deliver more than 1GW of AI-ready capacity across Newport, Bridgend and Bro Tathan.
“This is an important milestone for South Wales and for the UK’s AI infrastructure ambitions,” said David Howson, president, EMEA, Vantage Data Centers. “Nebius is scaling AI cloud infrastructure in the UK at a time when demand for domestic compute capacity continues to accelerate. Vantage’s Newport campus provides the scale, connectivity and operational excellence needed to support that growth, and we’re proud to help establish South Wales as a leading destination for AI investment.”
“The UK is one of the places where AI is being built, deployed and adopted by startups, enterprises and the public sector,” said Gary Tierney, general manager for EMEA at Nebius. “Vantage’s Newport campus gives us a strong foundation to expand access to NVIDIA-powered AI infrastructure in the UK and support customers building the next generation of AI applications.”
“This government wants to put AI to work as a tool for renewing Britain and delivering new jobs. It is central to our mission to reindustrialise the country, drive good growth in every postcode and ensure our public services match-fit for the decades ahead,” said AI Minster Kanishka Narayan. “Making that happen relies on having cutting-edge compute–the horsepower that makes AI possible–here on home shores. The infrastructure at Newport will create new high skilled jobs in South Wales and help British businesses and innovators using AI to solve some of the toughest problems.”
“Today’s announcement marks an important milestone for the South Wales AI Growth Zone and demonstrates Wales’ growing reputation as a strategic location for the infrastructure that will power the AI economy. Nebius and Vantage’s investment will help unlock new economic opportunities, support highly skilled jobs and reinforce Wales’ position as a leading destination for advanced digital investment,” said Adam Price, Welsh cabinet minister for enterprise, connectivity and energy. “We look forward to working with partners to maximise the benefits of this investment for businesses, communities and the wider Welsh economy.”
South Wales was designated as a UK AI Growth Zone in recognition of its concentration of digital infrastructure, fiber connectivity to London, high-capacity electricity grid infrastructure and strong industrial base. The region is also home to the UK’s largest cluster of semiconductor businesses, creating a growing ecosystem for advanced technology, AI infrastructure and high-value digital investment.
About Vantage Data Centers
Vantage Data Centers is a global provider of digital infrastructure serving AI and cloud innovators. With operations spanning North America, EMEA and Asia Pacific, Vantage delivers capacity at speed and scale, driven by a commitment to operational excellence and customer success. Vantage is empowering transformative companies to shape the future.
For more information, visit http://www.vantage-dc.com.
CWL13 data center at Vantage’s Newport, Wales, campus.
MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday made his first visit to the Kuril Islands, a Moscow-controlled Pacific archipelago that also is claimed by Japan, which voiced a diplomatic protest over the trip.
Putin visited a fish plant, a hospital and a school on Iturup, one of the volcanic chain's southern islands. He also briefly spoke to local residents and met with the governor of Russia's Sakhalin region, Valery Limarenko.
Japan asserts territorial rights to the four southernmost islands of the chain, which it calls the Northern Territories. The Soviet Union took them from Japan in the final days of World War II, and the dispute kept the countries from signing a peace treaty formally ending their hostilities.
Decades of diplomatic efforts to negotiate a settlement haven’t produced any visible results. Moscow over the years has also bolstered its military presence on the Kurils in moves that appeared to underscore its firm stance in the dispute.
Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said his country “strongly protests” Putin's visit to Iturup, which Japan calls Etorofu.
“The Northern Territories, including Etorofu (Iturup) Island, are Japan’s inherent territory both historically and from the perspective of international law,” Motegi said in a statement.
He summoned Russian Ambassador Nikolay Nozdrev to the ministry in Tokyo and lodged a strong protest over the visit, requesting that he "promptly report the message back to Moscow,” the minister told reporters afterward.
Japan also protested in 2021 when Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin visited Iturup.
Putin in recent days has visited several regions in Siberia and the Far East. Before coming to Iturup, he stopped on Sakhalin Island to attend the final part of drills by Russia's Pacific Fleet.
Speaking aboard a warship that was participating in the naval exercises, Putin said Wednesday that the current status of the Kuril Islands “is enshrined in international documents as a reality that arose following the outcome of the World War II.”
“But even here, Russia was prepared to seek a solution with the goal of concluding a peace treaty with Japan,” he said.
Putin said that in the past, Moscow “had developed constructive relations with a number of Japanese leaders, including the tragically deceased former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who did much to bring Japan and Russia closer together, to align our positions.”
Japan imposed sanctions on Russia after it sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022 and “listed Russia as a source of primary threats,” a change in that constructive relationship, he added.
Russia remains ready “to cooperate with all its neighbors, including Japan and other states in the region,” Putin said.
Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Putin’s visit is “incompatible with the Japanese position on the Northern Territories” and is “absolutely unacceptable.”
She said the visit was a further blow to the already-strained ties between the two countries over Ukraine, and that Moscow should understand the consequences.
“We must say this visit has further hardened Japanese public sentiment toward Russia and has made it more difficult to restore bilateral relations in the medium to long term,” she said. “We hope the Russian side fully understands the seriousness of this.”
One of the reasons Japan has made the effort to maintain ties with Russia is to allow former Japanese residents to return to the islands and pay tribute at their graves as a humanitarian consideration.
Dmitry Medvedev, Russia's former president and prime minister who now serves as deputy chair of the country's Security Council, responded to Takaichi's remarks on X by saying, “This chatter won't change a thing.”
The Kuril Islands “were, are, and will remain Russian land,” Medvedev, who himself visited the Kuril Islands four times as president and prime minister, wrote. “Anyone who fails to understand this will face the monstrous consequences of their delusion.”
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Associated Press writer Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo contributed.
Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, right, speaks to reporters after he summoned Russian Ambassador to Japan Nikolay Nozdev, not pictured, in Tokyo Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026. (Kenzaburo Fukuhara/Kyodo News via AP)
Russian Ambassador to Japan Nikolay Nozdev, left, arrives at the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026. (Kenzaburo Fukuhara/Kyodo News via AP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, interacts with schoolchildren as he visits a secondary school named after Eduard Norpolov in Kurilsk on the Iturup Island, the largest of the Kuril Islands of Russia's far-east, on Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026. (Gavriil Grigorov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin, second left, visits a secondary school named after Eduard Norpolov in Kurilsk on the Iturup Island, the largest of the Kuril Islands of Russia's far-east, on Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026. (Gavriil Grigorov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, visits the central district hospital at Kitovoye village on the Iturup Island, the largest of the Kuril Islands of Russia's fareast, on Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026. (Gavriil Grigorov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, listens to Sakhalin Region Governor Valery Limarenko in Kurilsk on the Iturup Island, the largest of the Kuril Islands of Russia's fareast, on Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026. (Gavriil Grigorov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, visits the Secondary School named after the Hero of Russia Eduard Norpolov in Kurilsk on the Iturup Island, the largest of the Kuril Islands of Russia's fareast, on Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026. (Gavriil Grigorov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
