This AI Data Center Company Wants $3 Billion, but Two Customers Hold Most of Its Future
Nscale Limited filed to sell its shares to the public on September 18, 2026. The London-based company plans to list ordinary shares on the New York Stock Exchange, hoping to raise $3 billion at a value of about $35 billion. Bloomberg
The filing lists more than $103 billion in promised future work. About 85% of that comes from just two deals, a $43.8 billion computing deal with Microsoft through 2033 and a $44.6 billion supply deal with Anthropic. TechCrunch
Anthropic's deal only holds if Nscale can raise the money to build. Anthropic can also leave or cancel the deal if Nscale misses strict deadlines set out in the filing. The Microsoft deal includes delivery of more than 66,000 Nvidia Rubin GPUs, a new type of chip made for AI, at the Start Campus site in Portugal, a project announced May 5, 2026.
Today's sales are much smaller than those future promises. Nscale reported $140.6 million in revenue for the six months ended June 30, up from $10.4 million a year earlier. Its net loss was $1.02 billion in the same period, up from $369 million a year earlier. Its largest customer made up 52% of revenue in the first half of 2026. Reuters
A backlog built on two names
Nscale was spun out of Arkon Energy two years before the filing. Arkon Energy is an Australian crypto mining company. Nscale now runs data centers, large buildings full of computers, in Norway, Portugal, Texas and West Virginia.
Nscale Limited is offering ordinary shares with a par value of $0.01 per share, according to the September 18 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. SEC filing
The board includes former Meta executives Sheryl Sandberg and Nick Clegg and former OpenAI executive Fidji Simo. Simo joined September 11, 2026. Nscale bought Anyscale on July 30, 2026 to improve its full AI cloud platform, and signed a partnership with Figure on September 3, 2026 to support physical AI work such as robots.
Nvidia is both a supplier and a lender. Nvidia agreed to provide $1 billion in convertible debt, a loan that can later turn into shares, as part of a larger $3.1 billion financing deal. Separately, Nvidia is thinking about investing as much as $10 billion in Anthropic's public offering, which would tie the three companies closer together. Bloomberg
Cash burn meets project finance
The filing lists recent loans tied to specific building sites. Nscale closed about $3 billion in financing for AI projects in Ward County, Texas and Madison, North Carolina, announced August 31, 2026. It closed a $900 million revolving credit facility, a flexible loan it can use and repay as needed, announced July 7, 2026. It secured $790 million to build in Norway, announced May 11, 2026.
Nscale was valued at $14.6 billion when it raised a $2 billion Series C round led by Aker ASA and 8090 Industries. The expected $35 billion IPO value would more than double that. The IPO money would sit next to debt tied to specific sites and chip purchases.
The broader context here is how these AI cloud companies pay for growth. It is like selling apartments before the building is finished. Space is sold before it is built. Loans are raised based on signed customer orders. Building costs and chip purchases use up cash long before customers pay for use. Losses grow while promised work grows. Nscale's $1.02 billion first-half loss against $140.6 million in revenue fits that pattern.
In my view, the word to watch is conditionality. The $44.6 billion Anthropic deal depends on financing, and the financing depends on the Anthropic deal. Strict deadlines tighten that loop. Late delivery gives the customer a way out, which makes the next loan harder. That setup can work if building stays on schedule. It leaves little room if it does not.
A crowded neocloud field
Nscale names CoreWeave, Nebius, Lambda and Crusoe as rivals. Heavy reliance on a few customers is common in this group. CoreWeave gets 67% of its revenue from Microsoft. Applied Digital gets 67% of its revenue from Oracle and 30% from CoreWeave.
Worth flagging for business buyers is what that means for smaller customers. When two large buyers take most of the space, smaller renters fit into a plan made for someone else. Prices, connection choices, software tools and building order will serve the biggest customers first. The Anyscale purchase and the Figure partnership point to a wider plan around running AI models, adapting them and powering robots, but the filing shows where near-term space is already promised.
Looking at what this means for public-market investors, the question is patience for timing. The contracts run to 2033. The bills for chips, power and loans start now. If Microsoft and Anthropic take delivery on time and Nscale meets its building goals, the $103 billion in promises could become steady, if low-profit, income. If money tightens or building slips, the largest customers have room to pause.
The longer history here is that big early builds have often paid off. Fiber cables, cloud centers and mobile networks all looked oversized before demand caught up. AI computing may follow the same path, and the customers paying for Nscale's growth want the buildings finished. The IPO will test whether public investors want to pay for the wait.
