Nvidia-backed AI cloud computing provider Nscale has raised $2bn in one of the largest deals of its kind for a European tech start-up, as former Meta executives Sheryl Sandberg and Nick Clegg join its board.
The deal for UK-headquartered Nscale — led by Aker ASA, the Norwegian energy and industrial group that is working with the start-up to build a data centre for customers including OpenAI in Norway, and 8090 Industries, a New York-based venture firm — values the two-year-old company at $14.6bn. The valuation includes the new capital raised.
The fundraising is the latest sign of sustained investor enthusiasm for AI infrastructure projects, despite turbulence on Wall Street due to concern about the impact of the technology and conflict in the Middle East that threatens to disrupt the energy and semiconductor supply chains that data centres rely on.