Nscale Meets Investor Resistance Over $35 Billion IPO Valuation Target

What Nscale Is Asking For

Nscale filed its S-1 registration statement with the US SEC on September 18, 2026, and plans to list on the NYSE under the ticker NSCL. The London-based AI infrastructure company is looking to raise approximately $3 billion through new shares, with a valuation target reaching as high as $35 billion, although some reports put the figure closer to $30 billion.

That target is a big step up from its last private price. Nscale was valued at $14.6 billion in its Series C round in March 2026, so the top of the range is roughly 2.4 times that mark. On the operating side, first-half 2026 revenue came in at $140.6 million, compared with $10.4 million a year earlier, a 1,252% increase. The filing also showed a net loss of $1.02 billion, meaning the company is spending heavily to reach a size that revenue has not yet caught up with.

The Backlog Problem

The bull case depends on Nscale's contract book. The company reports about $103.4 billion in total contracted value, most of it tied to Microsoft and Anthropic. Very little of it is producing revenue so far. As of late August, only around 2.5% of that contracted value was active.

Nscale's Norwegian facility is running six months behind schedule, with 6.4 MW operational against a 30 MW target. Microsoft also pulled out of a planned UK data center project because of difficulties securing power. With Microsoft and Anthropic holding most of the backlog, customer concentration is a concern, and the company's heavy debt load adds to the risk since borrowing costs come due whether or not the data centers open on time.

A Tough Room for AI Listings

Several AI infrastructure IPOs have been canceled or postponed, and Firmus abandoned its listing plans entirely. Public comparables have not helped. CoreWeave, the best-known listed neocloud, has seen its shares fall roughly 15-25% amid the sector pullback. Calls from some industry leaders for a slowdown in AI development have also triggered sell-offs across related stocks. A neocloud is a specialist provider that rents out GPU computing power for AI workloads, competing in a narrower lane than giants like Amazon or Microsoft.

The Insurance Policy Investors Already Bought

On September 25, 2026, Nscale raised $3.36 billion through pre-IPO convertible notes. Third Point led the round, with Apollo, Citadel, and the Abu Dhabi Investment Council also participating, and Nvidia contributing $1 billion. Nvidia is also expected to supply GPUs for Nscale's operations, making the chipmaker both an investor and a supplier. The notes convert into equity at a discount to the IPO price, and the conversion is capped at a $30 billion valuation.

Founder and CEO Josh Payne led Nscale's spinout from Arkon Energy in 2024. The board includes Nick Clegg, Sheryl Sandberg, and Susan Decker. If the IPO prices near or below $30 billion, early noteholders are protected and new public shareholders absorb the adjustment. The things to watch are the final price range, updates on the Norwegian and UK sites, and whether Microsoft and Anthropic expand their active commitments before the shares start trading.

Sources: Cryptobriefing · Techmeme · Bloomberg