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In the second episode of our special series recorded live at The Xcelerated Compute Show 2026 in London, Andy Davis is once again joined by co-host Rory Flashman from Spa Communications to explore what the UK needs to become a competitive force in AI infrastructure.

Joining the conversation:

Nick Reid, Public Policy Lead, CoreWeave

Adam Nethersole, Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Kao Data

The conversation begins with one of the biggest questions surrounding the development of AI infrastructure: what does sovereign AI actually mean?

Nick and Adam discuss why sovereignty is about more than simply building everything domestically. From control and trusted access to interoperability and data residency, they explore what genuine AI sovereignty could look like for users, businesses and governments.

The discussion then turns to the UK’s position in the global AI race. While the country has world-class research, academic expertise and AI talent, high energy costs and limited large-scale compute capacity are making it difficult to compete for intensive AI training workloads. The guests explore why inference may present a more immediate opportunity, and what needs to change if the UK wants to capture more of the economic value created by AI.

Scotland also comes into focus as a potential hub for future AI infrastructure. With abundant renewable energy, a cooler climate and strong universities, both guests see significant potential, but argue that grid constraints, policy and public opposition could prevent that opportunity from being fully realised.

Finally, the conversation tackles one of the industry’s biggest challenges: public perception. Nick and Adam discuss why operators need to move away from secrecy, communicate openly about environmental impact and engage directly with the individual communities surrounding data centre developments.

Recorded live at The Xcelerated Compute Show 2026 in London.

Key Topics:

• What sovereign AI and sovereign compute actually mean
• Why control, choice and interoperability matter for AI sovereignty
• The balance between AI training and inference workloads in the UK
• How energy costs are affecting the UK’s competitiveness
• Scotland’s potential as a major AI infrastructure hub
• The relationship between renewable energy, grid constraints and compute
• Why transparency and accurate data are essential to community engagement
• How the industry can better communicate the economic and societal value of AI infrastructure

Tune in for a timely conversation on whether the UK has the foundations to compete in AI infrastructure, what sovereignty should mean in practice, and why energy, policy and public trust will be crucial to turning British AI ambition into long-term economic value.

Support the show

The Inside Data Centre Podcast is recorded in partnership with DataX Connect, a specialist data centre recruitment company based in the UK. They operate on a global scale to place passionate individuals at the heart of leading data centre companies.

To learn more about Andy Davis and the rest of the DataX team, click here: DataX Connect