Nscale, the artificial intelligence data centre developer, has secured $1.1 billion in fresh financing, just one week after announcing a partnership with Nvidia and OpenAI in the UK.
The funding round, led by Norwegian energy giant Aker ASA alongside investors such as Point72, Nvidia, and Nokia, positions Nscale at the centre of Europe’s push to build high-capacity AI facilities.
With OpenAI signed on as an anchor customer and Microsoft striking a $6.2 billion deal for computing power from a Norway-based site, Nscale’s rapid expansion highlights the scale of demand for advanced computing infrastructure.
“We are building the AI-native Infrastructure platform of tomorrow,” said Josh Payne, CEO of Nscale.
“AI is reshaping industries, economies, and national strategies – but it cannot happen without the physical backbone: the data centers, the GPUs and the software to orchestrate them.”
Investment details and valuation
Aker ASA confirmed it would commit $285 million in cash and land, securing a 9.3% stake in Nscale.
This contribution formed part of the $1.1 billion package, which also saw participation from Blue Owl Capital, Dell Technologies, and Fidelity Management and Research Company.
Although Nscale declined to disclose final terms, the deal implies a valuation of around $3.1 billion.
Shares of Aker rose 1.2% to 767 kroner ($69.00) following the announcement, reflecting market confidence in its AI-focused investments.
Controlled by billionaire Kjell Inge Rokke, Aker has already diversified into industrial AI through its ownership of Cognite, alongside its substantial holdings in Aker BP, Norway’s second-largest oil and gas producer.
Nscale, founded in 2024 after spinning out from a cryptocurrency mining business, is one of several “neocloud” companies competing in this space.
Rivals such as CoreWeave and Nebius are also benefiting from soaring demand for access to advanced AI chips, with governments and corporations competing to secure capacity.
Expansion plans in the UK and Norway
Nscale said the fresh capital will support the rollout of its large-scale AI infrastructure across Europe, North America, and the Middle East.
The funding will go toward building its “AI factory” data centers, including projects such as Stargate UK and Stargate Norway, while also expanding its vertically integrated AI cloud platform.
The company added that the investment will accelerate the growth of its engineering and operations teams and enhance delivery capabilities for enterprise and government clients globally.
Nscale is building a large-scale AI data centre in Norway in partnership with Aker, with OpenAI as a confirmed anchor client.
The project is part of broader efforts by the UK and Norway to position themselves as leading destinations for AI infrastructure.
The company is also spearheading the Stargate project in the UK, chosen by OpenAI to build its first such facility in the country.
Alongside that, Nscale is collaborating with Microsoft to develop the UK’s largest AI supercomputer in Loughton, Essex.
Despite its ambitious pipeline, Nscale has yet to build a fully operational AI-dedicated data centre.
It inherited some sites from its crypto operations but is still in the process of scaling them to meet the performance and cooling needs of advanced AI workloads.
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