AI compute provider Nscale is looking for $3.5B in pre-IPO financing

Nscale, the British AI infrastructure company that recently signed a landmark compute deal with Anthropic, is reportedly in talks to raise another $3.5 billion as it prepares for an IPO that could come as early as this month.

Bloomberg reported Friday that Nscale is looking to sell $1.5 billion in convertible notes — a type of loan that can later convert into company stock — to a group of investors, while also seeking an additional $2 billion in financing from Nvidia, according to TechCrunch.

Founded just two years ago, Nscale has climbed quickly into the top tier of Europe's AI infrastructure market. Nvidia already participated in the firm's Series B round in March, a $1.1 billion raise led by investment fund Aker, which Nscale hailed as the largest Series B in European history. The company's Series A round, in December 2024, raised $155 million.

The fundraising push comes on the heels of a deal with Anthropic worth approximately $45 billion. Earlier this week, reports emerged that Nscale had told potential investors it expects roughly $103 billion in revenue following the deal — a figure that is not current sales but a projection based on signed customer leases, according to The Information.

AI infrastructure startups have seen immense growth in the current era of AI enthusiasm, in which compute has become a competitive currency, and Nscale's expansion shows how fast young European challengers can scale in that environment.

TechCrunch reached out to Nscale and Nvidia for comment, and neither had responded at press time. The key questions now are how the convertible notes get priced, whether Nvidia deepens its stake with the reported $2 billion, and whether Nscale actually rings the IPO bell later this month.