Crypto entrepreneur raises £750m to build UK’s biggest AI data centre

Josh Payne, Nscale’s founder, previously ran Bitcoin mining company Arkon Energy

An 18-month-old start-up has raised more than $1bn (£746m) to build Britain’s biggest AI data centre, despite never having completed one.

Nscale, which is at the centre of Sir Keir Starmer’s plans to become an artificial intelligence hub, has secured $1.1bn from investors including Nvidia, Nokia and the Norwegian investment giant Aker.

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The company was only founded in May last year and has not yet constructed a site, although it is scheduled to build a data centre in Essex with Microsoft which has been described as Britain’s largest AI supercomputer.

It is also planning to build a series of “Stargate” AI hubs with OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, beginning with a data centre in Newcastle.

The deal makes Nscale, which spun out of an Australian cryptocurrency mining operation, one of Britain’s most valuable AI companies. Aker said it was paying $285m for a 9.3pc stake, suggesting the company is worth around $3bn.

Nscale was founded by Australian Josh Payne, 31, who previously ran Arkon Energy, a Bitcoin mining company.

It remains largely owned by Arkon, according to filings at Companies House.

Cryptocurrency mining requires high-powered IT systems. The company has converted some of its crypto mining operations in Norway to data centre infrastructure. It says it has a “seasoned leadership team that has built over 50 data centres”.

The company now plans to spend billions buying AI chips from Nvidia, the world’s most valuable company, to build a global network of data centres.

Jensen Huang, Nvidia’s chief executive, said last week that he planned to invest £500m in the company, although it is unclear how much of this was in the funding round announced on Thursday.

Mr Huang last week gave Mr Payne a bottle of Johnnie Walker whisky, predicting that the company would go from revenues of “zero to $50bn”.

“I’ll go on record as to say I’m the best thing that’s ever happened to him,” Mr Huang said.

Mr Payne said on Thursday: “This [funding] allows Nscale to provide our customers access to scarce, and highly sought after, compute capacity and rapidly accelerate the build-out of secure, compliant and energy-efficient AI infrastructure.

“Europe needs a Hyperscaler, and Nscale is rising to the challenge.”

Kanishka Narayan, the technology minister, said: “The success of UK-founded companies like Nscale shows how our country can be at the cutting edge of AI.

“By attracting global expertise and investment, it is building the essential infrastructure for the UK to compete internationally, drive growth, and create jobs across the country.”

Other backers include investment firms Sandton Capital, Blue Owl, Fidelity, G Squared, Point72, and T.Capital and the tech company Dell.

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