Nscale
UK AI infrastructure hyperscaler; raised $2bn Series C in March 2026, largest European venture round in history.
Last refreshed: 13 April 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Europe's biggest ever venture round — so why is Nscale's CEO already talking IPO?
Timeline for Nscale
Raised $2bn Series C at £11.7bn valuation
UK Startups and Innovation: Nscale raises $2bn in record European roundMentioned in: London VC hits £2.14bn, Nscale takes 70%
UK Startups and Innovation- How did Nscale raise $2bn so quickly after only being founded in 2024?
- Nscale was founded by Josh Payne, who had built Arkon Energy's data centre infrastructure beforehand. It launched from stealth with a $155m Series A, then raised $1.1bn in late 2025 before the $2bn Series C in March 2026 at a $14.6bn valuation.Source: Nscale press release / Sifted
- Who owns Nscale and who are its investors?
- Nscale is led by founder-CEO Josh Payne. Series C investors include Aker ASA, 8090 Industries, Nvidia, Dell, Citadel, Jane Street, and Point72. Nick Clegg and Sheryl Sandberg joined the board after the round.Source: Nscale press release
- What does Nscale actually do?
- Nscale builds and operates AI-optimised data centres, primarily powered by renewable hydroelectricity in Norway. It provides GPU compute infrastructure to enterprise customers including Microsoft under a reported $14bn contract.Source: Nscale website / Computer Weekly
- Is Nscale planning an IPO?
- Yes. CEO Josh Payne told the Financial Times in late 2025 that the company has public market ambitions, targeting an IPO "the back end of 2026".Source: Financial Times / AI Business
Background
Nscale made history in March 2026 when it raised $2bn in a Series C at a $14.6bn valuation, the largest venture round ever closed in Europe. Investors include Nvidia, Dell, Citadel, Jane Street, Point72, and Norwegian conglomerate Aker ASA, which co-led alongside 8090 Industries. Former UK Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and former Meta COO Sheryl Sandberg joined the board. The company is also eyeing a 2026 IPO and has signed a reported $14bn contract to supply approximately 200,000 Nvidia GB300 GPUs to Microsoft across sites in the UK, Norway, Portugal, and the US.
Founded in May 2024 by Josh Payne, who previously ran Arkon Energy (a renewably powered Cryptocurrency mining and data centre business), Nscale operates a vertically integrated AI infrastructure stack covering accelerator chips, networking, and data centres. Its flagship facilities run on hydroelectric power in Glomfjord, Norway, with further hyperscale campuses under construction near Narvik. The company launched from stealth with a $155m Series A, then closed a $1.1bn Series B in late 2025 at a $3.1bn valuation before the record-breaking Series C in March 2026.
Nscale is now at the centre of the UK and European debate over sovereign AI compute. Its scale has made it the dominant single recipient of London venture capital in March 2026 — its round alone accounted for 70% of all London VC deployed that month. The Sovereign AI Unit launched by DSIT in April 2026 is designed partly to create UK infrastructure companies of similar strategic weight, signalling that Nscale is now a benchmark for what British AI sovereignty could look like.