NVIDIA-backed Nscale considers delaying $35 billion IPO

TechFlow reported on Nov. 11 that, according to the UK's The Daily Telegraph, British AI data center company Nscale is considering postponing its $35 billion (approximately £26 billion) IPO plan until next year. Following a global tech stock sell-off last week that wiped $3 trillion off U.S. stock market capitalization, markets are concerned that a Democratic "blue wave" after the U.S. midterm elections could slow data center construction, causing valuations of highly leveraged AI firms to slide collectively.

Nscale had originally planned to list in New York "soon." Under U.S. stock market regulations, if a new quarterly earnings report is not released shortly, the company will have only a few days left to commence trading; insiders state that a decision has not yet been made, and the company anticipates releasing its third-quarter earnings report imminently. In September this year, Nscale submitted its listing application to the NYSE, initially seeking a valuation of up to $35 billion, though some investors believe that under current market conditions, it may fall to less than half that amount; a financing round earlier this year valued the company at $14.6 billion.

The listing plan has encountered successive setbacks: Microsoft withdrew from leasing the company's flagship data center in Loughton, Essex, last month and rejected requests for space across other facilities; grid connection delays could postpone the UK site into the next decade. Investors in Nscale include Nvidia (which had initially been expected to invest another $1 billion this month), and directors include former UK Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, who stands to gain up to $40 million from the listing, alongside CEO Josh Payne, who may receive $350 million. The company holds contracts with clients including Microsoft and Anthropic worth more than $100 billion, though these largely depend on the completion of new data centers; the company declined to comment.