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Council welcomes huge AI investment in North Ayrshire
Councillor Tony Gurney, Cabinet Member for Green Environment and Economy, has welcomed a major AI investment into the region.
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 in the i3 area of Irvine. Up to 6,400 GPUs will be deployed during that initial phase. 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.
Their investment in North Ayrshire is expected to create substantial employment opportunities, both through the delivery of the site’s construction and in the diverse range of skilled roles that will support its long-term operation
Quote: This is a hugely significant announcement and we recognise the enormous potential this offers our area, placing it at the vanguard of the AI revolution. We stand ready to become Scotland’s leading innovation and industrial investment region, delivering high-value AI at pace. Our vision for Ayrshire is to build wealth for everyone by creating opportunities for those who want to live, work, learn and invest in the region, these plans will assist in transforming that vision into reality. They align with the ambitions of our Ayrshire Regional Economic Strategy and with the £251Million Ayrshire Growth Deal and propel the region into a sustainable future where digital innovation not only thrives but significantly contributes to the country’s economic resilience and growth.“The scale of this investment will be transformational for our young people and residents. It offers the chance to establish a local skills pipeline across construction, engineering, digital infrastructure, and data centre operations and will deliver major supply chain benefits which will ripple across Ayrshire businesses and beyond.
Quote from: Councillor Tony Gurney, Cabinet Member for Green Environment and Economy
Councillor Gurney added: “We are already forging a name for ourselves as leaders in smart manufacturing and digital skills. At the heart of this is our Ayrshire Digital Economy Ecosystem which, through increased collaboration and stakeholder engagement, is driving innovation, upskilling businesses and supporting further investment into the region. The recent Ayrshire Growth Deal investment in the Digital Process Manufacturing Centre based in Irvine is a fantastic example of how we are transforming the region’s industrial landscape.
“And Ayrshire has also become a testbed for next-generation connectivity through the Department of Science Innovation and Technology funded 5G Innovation Regions programme, giving us the opportunity to collaborate with partners such as National Manufacturing Institute Scotland, University of the West of Scotland and Ayrshire College to secure the ongoing development of AI and data science capability.
“We work together and collaborate regionally in Ayrshire, with the common purpose of building an inclusive wellbeing economy founded on our pioneering Community Wealth Building approach, which sees us invest in our businesses and communities and we look forward to extending this partnership as the project progresses with AI Pathfinder.”
AI Pathfinder, a UK-based company, has announced its mission to deliver up to 2GW of sovereign AI supercomputing capacity at its AI Factories in the UK, representing a major contribution towards national AI sovereignty objectives. The company will launch its first UK deployment in December 2025 in Northamptonshire, with planned investment of up to £3.4bn and will mark the commencement of its national operations
Published: 19 September 2025