British artificial intelligence infrastructure company Nscale is planning to raise up to $3 billion through a U.S. initial public offering (IPO), joining a wave of AI data center firms making intensive forays into public capital markets. According to people familiar with the matter, the company could launch its listing as early as September this year and is currently working with Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase to advance the relevant plans.
London-based Nscale has aggressively expanded its AI data center business in recent years, building new facilities in Norway, West Virginia in the United States, and elsewhere. To meet the explosive demand from global technology companies for AI computing power, the company urgently needs to tap capital markets to fund its massive infrastructure expansion plans. It is understood that during the IPO preparation phase, Nscale has disclosed to potential investors that its total contracted revenue stands at approximately $51 billion, providing significant business underpinning for its IPO valuation. However, the relevant discussions are still ongoing, and the final fundraising scale and timeline remain subject to change, with the possibility of a delay not ruled out. Nscale officially declined to comment.
Drawing considerable market attention is Nscale’s board lineup, which includes Sheryl Sandberg, former chief operating officer of Meta Platforms (META), and Nick Clegg, former president of global affairs at Meta and former deputy prime minister of the United Kingdom. The company’s business model primarily revolves around building large-scale AI data centers and procuring vast quantities of AI chips, then leasing computing capacity to clients that need to train and run large models. With the rapid development of generative AI, infrastructure firms such as Nscale are investing tens of billions of dollars to expand their computing scale.
According to earlier information, the company plans to add approximately 10 gigawatts (GW) of power capacity to its AI computing centers, while it currently has about 831 megawatts (MW) of operational or under-contract power capacity. For reference, 1 GW of electricity can simultaneously meet the power needs of roughly 750,000 U.S. households. If the new expansion plan is realized, its facility scale will achieve a substantial leap. Alongside expanding hardware scale, Nscale is also extending into the software layer. In July this year, it agreed to acquire software startup Anyscale for $1.65 billion, aiming to improve clients’ efficiency in using AI computing power and thereby broaden its coverage across the industry chain.
