Nscale raises $3.36B in pre-IPO financing as AI infrastructure race heats up
The London-based AI cloud platform, which pivoted from crypto mining just two years ago, secured backing from Third Point and Nvidia ahead of its planned NYSE listing.
Nscale just pulled in $3.36 billion in pre-IPO financing, the kind of number that makes even seasoned venture capitalists do a double take. The round, led by hedge fund Third Point, included a $1 billion commitment from Nvidia, effectively putting the chipmaker’s stamp of approval on one of Europe’s fastest-growing AI infrastructure companies.
The London-based company filed its S-1 and is gearing up for a NYSE listing under the ticker NSCL. For a company that was literally mining Bitcoin two years ago, the trajectory is nothing short of extraordinary.
Breaking down the deal
The financing is structured in two chunks. An initial tranche of $2.36 billion is set to convert into ordinary shares once Nscale completes its IPO. Nvidia’s $1 billion piece is expected to activate by mid-November, with the chipmaker receiving non-voting shares in the arrangement.
The conversion price will be determined at a double-digit discount from the eventual IPO price, though it’s capped at a $30 billion valuation ceiling.
For context, Nscale was valued at $14.6 billion after closing a $2 billion Series C in March 2026. A $30 billion cap on the pre-IPO conversion means investors are pricing in roughly a doubling from that round, which was itself only six months ago.
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The company reports more than $103 billion in total contracted value across its business, with a power pipeline exceeding 10 GW spread across 14 regions worldwide.
From crypto mining to AI powerhouse
Nscale’s origin story reads like a case study in strategic pivoting. Founded in May 2024 by Josh Payne, the company began as an offshoot of a crypto mining operation. Payne recognized that the GPU infrastructure and energy procurement expertise needed for Bitcoin mining overlapped significantly with what the booming AI sector demanded.
In 2025, Nscale closed a $1.1 billion Series B, which at the time was the largest venture funding round in European history. The $2 billion Series C followed in early 2026, more than tripling the company’s valuation to $14.6 billion.
Strategic partnerships and the road to IPO
Nvidia’s involvement goes beyond just writing a check. Nscale has established partnerships with both Nvidia and Microsoft, focusing on GPU cloud services and sustainable power solutions for data centers. Having Nvidia as both a supplier and an investor creates a powerful alignment of incentives: Nvidia wants more customers deploying its chips at scale, and Nscale wants preferential access to the most in-demand hardware on the planet.