AI compute provider Nscale is looking for $3.5B in pre-IPO financing
TechCrunch
β’Fri, 04 Sep 2026 21:12:11 +0000
π° What Happened
Nscale, a British AI infrastructure company founded just two years ago, may go public as early as later this month and is reportedly in talks to raise an additional $3.5 billion ahead of the expected IPO. Bloomberg reported on Friday that the company is seeking to sell $1.5 billion in convertible notes to a group of investors while also pursuing an additional $2 billion in financing from Nvidia. Nscale recently signed a large deal with Anthropic worth approximately $45 billion.
π The Backstory
Nvidia also participated in Nscale's Series B in March, a $1.1 billion raise led by investment fund Aker that the company hailed as the largest Series B in European history, following a $155 million Series A in December 2024. Reports this week said Nscale has been telling potential investors it has approximately $103 billion in revenue, though that figure is a projection based on signed customer leases rather than current sales.
π― Why It Matters
The raise underscores how compute has become the competitive currency of the AI era, with billions flowing into data-centre infrastructure. It also shows Nvidia deepening its financial ties with compute providers, locking in demand for its chips as AI labs sign ever-larger capacity deals.
Nscale, a British AI infrastructure company founded just two years ago, may go public as early as later this month and is reportedly in talks to raise an additional $3.5 billion ahead of the expected IPO. Bloomberg reported on Friday that the company is seeking to sell $1.5 billion in convertible notes to a group of investors while also pursuing an additional $2 billion in financing from Nvidia. Nscale recently signed a large deal with Anthropic worth approximately $45 billion.
Nvidia also participated in Nscale's Series B in March, a $1.1 billion raise led by investment fund Aker that the company hailed as the largest Series B in European history, following a $155 million Series A in December 2024. Reports this week said Nscale has been telling potential investors it has approximately $103 billion in revenue, though that figure is a projection based on signed customer leases rather than current sales.
The raise underscores how compute has become the competitive currency of the AI era, with billions flowing into data-centre infrastructure. It also shows Nvidia deepening its financial ties with compute providers, locking in demand for its chips as AI labs sign ever-larger capacity deals.