AI cloud infrastructure startup Nscale is looking to raise $2.7bn, according to Bloomberg, as a wave of European tech companies look to take advantage of rising demand for access to high performance compute across the region.
The UK-based company, less than a year old, wants to build out capacity at data centres supplying businesses with AI cloud infrastructure, including access to Nvidia’s most powerful chips. It announced plans to invest £2.5bn into UK data centre infrastructure over the next three years in January.
Nscale has been fundraising for a $1.8bn debt deal led by Goldman Sachs bankers, reported Bloomberg, citing an offering document it had seen. The document also showed the company was trying to raise $900m in equity and convertible, the publication said.
Conversations started before US president Donald Trump plunged global markets into meltdown with tariffs earlier this month, and financing plans may change or be delayed as a result, Bloomberg reported people familiar with the matter as saying.
Nscale also touted a pending partnership with Chinese TikTok-owner ByteDance in the offering document, Bloomberg said, pointing to a potential $2bn partnership. ByteDance told Bloomberg that the $2bn figure “significantly overstates the scale of any possible cooperation”.
A spokesperson for Nscale declined to comment directly on the reports, but told Sifted: “It is an exciting time for Nscale as the European sovereign hyperscaler, given the increasing AI demand in Europe and the rapidly evolving industry landscape, so we understand the strong interest in our business.”
Sifted approached Goldman Sachs and ByteDance for comment.
Booming AI infrastructure
Nscale is one of a number of European startups looking to cash in on an AI boom that has seen demand for powerful compute skyrocket.
Rising geopolitical tensions and concerns about the reliability of US hyperscalers, which control the majority of the European market, in the wake of Trump’s tariffs, have prompted a boom in homegrown startups looking to convince investors to part with their cash.
UK-based Ori, which also provides access to powerful Nvidia chips via the cloud, will be announcing a new raise in the near future, founder and CEO Mahdi Yahya tells Sifted. The startup, founded in 2018, has already raised $160m in debt and equity.
Compatriot Fluidstack, which announced plans to build a €10bn supercomputer in France earlier this year, is seeking an investment between $100m-200m, Bloomberg reported in February.
Governments across Europe have been looking to encourage private companies to commit billions of euros to big AI infrastructure projects in recent months. The UK announced it had secured £14bn in data centre commitments as it announced its grand AI plan in January (of which £2.5bn was from Nscale) and France said it had secured more than €100bn.
In recent months, Mistral also announced plans to invest billions of euros in building an AI data centre in France.
Read the orginal article: https://sifted.eu/articles/ai-startup-nscale-seeks-2-7bn-fundraise/
