As demand for data centers capable of delivering large-scale AI computing increases, Nvidia-backed British AI infrastructure company Nscale is now valued at $14.6 billion. This makes it one of Europe’s newest decacorns alongside Helsing and Mistral AI.
Nscale has been betting on vertical integration, from energy and data centers to computing and orchestration software. The company’s new valuation stems from a $2 billion Series C, which the company calls “the largest in European history,” but that figure also includes a $433 million pre-Series C SAFE backed by Blue Owl, Dell, Nvidia and Nokia in October.
The financing was backed by Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan, whose involvement has been interpreted as preparation for an IPO, but not without reason. Nscale CEO Josh Payne told the New York Times that his company could seek to go public “as early as this year” to generate more capital.
In addition to the funding and plans, the company also announced that former Meta COO Sheryl Sandberg, former Yahoo boss Susan Decker, and former British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg will be joining its board of directors.
Nscale is not new to big rounds and announcements. In September, it announced a $1.1 billion Series B led by Aker. Aaker is a publicly traded Norwegian company with interests in the energy sector and is co-leading the Series C with New York-based investment firm 8090 Industries.
The companies also agreed that the joint venture between Aker and Nscale will now be fully managed by Nscale. The Norway-based AI infrastructure project, called “Stargate Norway,” has a goal of running on 100,000 Nvidia GPUs by the end of 2026, with OpenAI as an early customer.
“This move will strengthen execution by bringing delivery and governance under one roof, while preserving continuity for people and projects already underway,” said Aker President and CEO Øyvind Eriksen, a member of Nscale’s board of directors.
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Last October, Nscale signed an expansion agreement with Microsoft and Dell to bring approximately 200,000 Nvidia GPUs to three European data centers and one U.S. data center.
Dell and Nvidia both participated in the Series C, as did Astra Capital, Citadel, Jane Street, Lenovo, Linden Advisors, Nokia, and Point72. Nscale expects the new funding will allow it to accelerate the development of its AI infrastructure across Europe, North America, and Asia, while helping expand its engineering and operations teams and strengthen its platform.
Apart from the equity, the company also borrowed last month, taking out a $1.4 billion GPU-backed delinquent loan to fund some of its clusters across Europe. The company aims to take advantage of growing corporate demand and low-cost renewable energy, with renewed pledges to reuse waste heat, develop local skills and invest in local infrastructure as part of Stargate Norway.
