Observed Signal · Mar 9, 2026 · Funding · Source: techcrunch · Impact: 4/5 · Sentiment: Positive
Nscale Soars to $14.6B Valuation with Star-Studded Board
Nscale, a British AI infrastructure company backed by Nvidia, raised a $2 billion Series C that values the company at $14.6 billion. The Series C figure includes a prior $433 million pre-Series C SAFE from October backed by Blue Owl, Dell, Nvidia and Nokia. The round was supported by Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan; Nscale CEO Josh Payne said an IPO could be possible as early as this year. Former Meta COO Sheryl Sandberg, former Yahoo president Susan Decker, and former U.K. deputy prime minister Nick Clegg joined Nscale’s board. Nscale will fully manage its Norway joint venture project “Stargate Norway,” which aims to run on 100,000 Nvidia GPUs by end of 2026 and lists OpenAI as an initial customer. The company also struck an expanded Microsoft deal for ~200,000 Nvidia GPUs across multiple data centers and raised a $1.4 billion GPU‑backed delayed draw term loan.
Large $2B Series C and $14.6B valuation backed by major investors (Nvidia, Dell, Blue Owl) plus major GPU capacity commitments (Stargate Norway aiming for 100,000 GPUs and expanded Microsoft deal) meaningfully expand AI compute capacity and could reshape regional AI infrastructure and capital markets activity.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- Nscale raised a $2 billion Series C and is valued at $14.6 billion.
- The Series C includes a $433 million pre-Series C SAFE backed by Blue Owl, Dell, Nvidia and Nokia.
- Sheryl Sandberg, Susan Decker and Nick Clegg joined Nscale’s board.
- Nscale will fully manage the Stargate Norway joint venture with the ambition to run on 100,000 Nvidia GPUs by end of 2026; OpenAI is named as an initial customer.
- Nscale signed an expanded deal with Microsoft to bring ~200,000 Nvidia GPUs to data centers and also raised a $1.4 billion GPU‑backed delayed draw term loan.
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Nscale Soars to $14.6B Valuation with Nvidia's Backing
AI data center startup Nscale raised $2 billion in a Series C at a $14.6 billion valuation, the company announced. The round featured investment from Nvidia and was led by Aker ASA and 8090 Industries, with participation from Astra Capital Management, Citadel, Dell, Jane Street, Lenovo, Linden Advisors, Nokia and Point72. Nscale named three new board directors: Sheryl Sandberg (former Meta COO), Nick Clegg (former UK deputy prime minister and Meta executive) and Susan Decker (former Yahoo President). Founded in 2024 and UK‑based, Nscale operates data centers across the U.K., U.S., Norway, Portugal and Iceland, has partnerships with Microsoft and OpenAI, and said the funds will accelerate its vertically integrated AI infrastructure buildout across Europe, North America and Asia.
Nscale seeks $3.5B pre-IPO financing ahead of September IPO
British AI infrastructure company Nscale is reportedly in talks to raise $3.5 billion in pre-IPO financing, as it prepares for a potential US IPO as early as this month. Bloomberg reported that the company is seeking to sell $1.5 billion in convertible notes to a group of investors, alongside an additional $2 billion in financing from Nvidia. Nscale's Series B round in March, led by Aker, raised $1.1 billion and was hailed as the largest Series B in European history. The company recently signed a deal with Anthropic worth approximately $45 billion, and it claims about $103 billion in contracted revenue. Nscale, founded just two years ago, has grown rapidly amid the AI compute boom, with Nvidia as a key backer.
Nscale Files for US IPO Targeting $30B Valuation
British AI infrastructure company Nscale has filed its IPO prospectus with the US SEC, aiming to list on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker 'NSCL'. The company seeks a valuation of around $30 billion, as reported by CNBC via Reuters, a significant jump from its last private round valuation of $14.6 billion. Nscale, which transitioned from Bitcoin mining to AI compute, reported first-half 2026 revenue of $140.6 million, a 1,252% increase, but also a net loss of $1.02 billion. Its order book stands at $103.4 billion, with Microsoft and Anthropic contracts totaling $88.4 billion. The company recently secured $3.1 billion in convertible notes, with Nvidia as a key investor. Nscale faces high customer concentration, a going-concern note, and dependence on a few suppliers. Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, and Morgan Stanley are lead underwriters.
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