The archive · Space, Robots, Defence · Strategic decision · 2023–2026
Nscale bets Europe needs its own AI cloud; $1.1B Series B, $14.6B valuation
A 2023 Arkon Energy spin-out builds GPU-first data centres for Europe; $1.1B Series B in 2025, Stargate Norway and a $14.6B valuation by 2026.
Nscale
What the business is
Nscale builds and operates AI-optimised data centres — a 'neocloud' — across Europe, the US and Asia, renting out Nvidia GPU capacity for training and running foundation models.
Starting capital：$1.1B Series B (Sep 2025, Aker led) plus $2B Series C (Mar 2026) incl. a $433M pre-Series C SAFE
How it started
Nscale was spun out of Australian crypto-mining infrastructure firm Arkon Energy in 2023, led by co-founder and CEO Josh Payne, to serve AI workloads. Its premise: AI training and inference need purpose-built GPU data centres, and the compute shortage leaves room for a new entrant to win big contracts.
What happened
In September 2025 Nscale raised a $1.1B Series B led by Norwegian industrial investor Aker, with Nvidia, Nokia and Dell participating. The money funded Stargate projects with OpenAI: a Norwegian site targeting 100,000 Nvidia GPUs before 2027 (a $1B commitment) and a UK site starting with 8,000 GPUs, expandable to about 31,000. In October it signed an expanded Microsoft deal for roughly 200,000 Nvidia GPUs across three European data centres and one US site, with Dell.
How it ended up
In March 2026 Nscale announced a $2B Series C it calls the largest in European history, valuing the company at $14.6B, and brought Sheryl Sandberg, Susan Decker and Nick Clegg onto its board. CEO Josh Payne told The New York Times an IPO could come as early as 2026; the Aker joint venture 'Stargate Norway' moved under full Nscale management with OpenAI as initial customer.
Background
Nscale's bet is that Europe's AI build-out cannot wait for hyperscalers: training and running foundation models needs data centres built around GPUs, and whoever can deploy that capacity fastest wins. The company came out of Australian crypto-mining infrastructure firm Arkon Energy in 2023, led by co-founder and CEO Josh Payne, with a playbook for sourcing power, GPUs and industrial-scale data-centre operations inherited from mining.
The bet paid off in fundraising. In September 2025 Nscale raised a $1.1 billion Series B led by Norwegian industrial group Aker, joined by Nvidia, Nokia and Dell. The capital funded 'Stargate' data-centre work with OpenAI: a $1 billion Norwegian project targeting 100,000 Nvidia GPUs before 2027, and a UK site beginning with 8,000 GPUs and expandable to roughly 31,000. A month later Nscale signed an expanded Microsoft deal for about 200,000 Nvidia GPUs across three European data centres and one US site, with Dell.
By March 2026 Nscale was valued at $14.6 billion after announcing a $2 billion Series C — which it calls the largest in European history and which included a $433 million pre-Series C SAFE — with Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan involved and Sheryl Sandberg, Susan Decker and Nick Clegg joining the board. Payne told The New York Times an IPO could come as early as 2026.
What has to be true
- AI training and inference demand outstripped what existing hyperscalers could supply, creating room for new, GPU-first clouds.
- Crypto mining gave the team real experience sourcing power, GPUs and data-centre sites at industrial scale.
- Aker's $1.1B Series B and the OpenAI and Microsoft contracts proved demand for European compute before Nscale had to be profitable.
- Vertical integration from energy to orchestration software is the moat the company sells to investors and enterprise customers.
What can be applied
In an infrastructure shortage, the wedge is supply-side speed: Nscale won record funding by promising scarce GPU capacity, not by inventing a better model — the AI boom made compute the product.
Aftermath
As of September 2026, Nscale is one of Europe's newest decacorns at a $14.6 billion valuation, running AI data centres in the UK, Norway and beyond with OpenAI and Microsoft as anchor customers. After the $2 billion Series C in March 2026 and a $1.4 billion GPU-backed delayed-draw term loan, it is preparing a possible IPO — Payne said it could list as early as 2026.
Sources
- British AI firm Nscale raises $1.1 billion in Nvidia-backed funding round
- Sandberg, Clegg join Nscale board as this 'Stargate Norway' startup hits $14.6B valuation
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