British startup Nscale has opened its first physical office in Mayfair, London, marking a key milestone less than a year after launching. The move follows a $155 million (£115.5 million) Series A funding round that underscored strong investor backing for its AI-focused data centre model.
Nscale designs and operates facilities tailored for large-scale AI workloads, using closed-loop direct liquid cooling technology to boost performance and energy efficiency. The company is positioning itself at the forefront of meeting soaring global demand for sustainable, high-capacity AI infrastructure.
“London is a natural anchor for this vision,” said Josh Payne, CEO. “It connects us to customers, partners and policymakers across the continent. It also gives us a base from which to deepen collaboration and accelerate the adoption of AI across industries and public life.”
The company is leading one of Europe’s most ambitious AI infrastructure projects, Stargate Norway, a $1 billion joint venture with Aker ASA and OpenAI. Located near Narvik, the facility will house 100,000 Nvidia GPUs by 2026, powered entirely by renewable hydropower. Initial capacity of 230MW will grow to 520MW, with long-term plans to expand tenfold. Excess heat from the site will be reused to support local low-carbon industries.
OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman has highlighted Stargate Norway’s strategic role in expanding compute resources across Europe, calling it a catalyst for innovation and growth.
In parallel, Nscale has pledged £2 billion to the UK data centre sector, with a major facility due by late 2026. The site will host up to 45,000 NVIDIA GH200 GPUs and create around 750 jobs, reinforcing the government’s ambition to establish sovereign, secure AI infrastructure.
Since its launch in May 2024, Nscale has scaled its pipeline of data centres across Europe and North America from 300MW to 1.3GW, with 120MW of capacity planned for 2025 alone. Its projects combine cutting-edge sustainability practices with advanced AI compute capabilities, aligning with UK and European goals for responsible technology adoption.
Payne said the company was focused on laying “foundations for sustainable AI infrastructure, strong partnerships, and the people who make it possible,” as Nscale positions itself at the heart of Europe’s AI revolution.
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