Podcast Episode
Nvidia-Backed Nscale Eyes US Data Centre Purchase Ahead of Blockbuster IPO
March 13, 2026
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2:29
British AI infrastructure startup Nscale, backed by Nvidia and valued at fourteen point six billion dollars, is in talks to buy a major US data centre as it prepares for a public listing later this year. The company recently closed a record-breaking two billion dollar funding round.
From Crypto Mining to AI Powerhouse
Nscale, a British startup that began life as a spinoff from an Australian cryptocurrency mining operation in twenty twenty-four, has rapidly transformed into one of the world's most prominent neocloud providers. The company owns and operates data centres, GPUs, and software stacks designed to deliver AI computing at massive scale.A Record-Breaking Fundraise
Just days ago, Nscale announced a two billion dollar Series C funding round, the largest in European history, led by Aker ASA and 8090 Industries. Nvidia, Dell Technologies, Nokia, Lenovo, and Citadel were among the participants. The round valued the company at fourteen point six billion dollars, more than quadrupling its roughly three point one billion dollar valuation from September twenty twenty-five. Alongside the raise, former Meta chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg, former UK Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, and former Yahoo President Susan Decker joined the board.Expanding Across the Atlantic
Nscale is now in talks to purchase a major data centre site in the United States, according to a report from The Information. The move would mark a shift from leasing to owning infrastructure, a strategy that could strengthen its appeal to public market investors. The company has already signed a landmark deal with Microsoft to deploy approximately two hundred thousand Nvidia chips across data centres in Texas, Portugal, Norway, and the UK, a contract valued at up to fourteen billion dollars. An additional eight hundred and sixty-five million dollar colocation deal in North Carolina further cements its American footprint.IPO on the Horizon
Nscale has hired Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan to prepare for a potential initial public offering, with chief executive Josh Payne previously signalling ambitions for the back end of twenty twenty-six. The company now competes directly with CoreWeave and other infrastructure providers for the contracts underpinning the global AI buildout.Published March 13, 2026 at 9:12am
