A multibillion-pound UK AI investment drive is riddled with 'phantom investments' and misleading claims, a Guardian investigation has revealed. Since 2024, the government has touted massive deals to build datacenters, create thousands of jobs, and construct a supercomputer, all supposedly led by companies linked to Nvidia. But the promised infrastructure and economic benefits appear largely fictional.

In one case, CoreWeave claimed a £1bn investment would bring 'two new datacenters' to the UK, but these were actually existing facilities built in 2002 and 2015. The company simply rented space and deployed Nvidia chips, effectively relocating hardware from Taiwan rather than building new infrastructure. When questioned, the government admitted it wasn't actively auditing these commitments.

Nscale's flagship supercomputer project in Loughton turned out to be a scaffolding yard, with the company submitting planning applications only after inquiries began. The government acknowledged that claimed contracts were merely 'intentions to commit capital' rather than binding agreements. These revelations raise serious questions about the UK's AI strategy and whether billions in announced investments are creating real economic value or simply enriching US-based tech giants.