Nscale lands $790M to expand its AI data centre in Norway
What's the deal? Nscale, the London-based AI infrastructure company, has secured $790 million in debt financing to continue building out its data centre in Narvik, Norway — the country's largest AI infrastructure investment. ABN AMRO, DNB, Nordea, Eksfin, and SEB committed the funds.
The deal also includes an uncommitted $790 million accordion feature that could fund a further 115MW expansion at the Narvik campus.
Why now? The financing caps a remarkable fundraising streak. In March 2026, Nscale closed a $2 billion Series C — the largest in European history — led by Aker ASA and 8090 Industries. That followed a $1.4 billion delayed-draw term loan in February.
In total, Nscale has raised roughly $4.2 billion in under four months, reflecting surging demand for AI compute capacity.
What could go wrong? Nscale's model hinges on owning the full stack — energy, data centres, GPU compute, and software. That vertical integration offers control but also concentrates risk. Any delays in power delivery or hardware supply could slow the buildout and weigh on returns from the heavy debt load the company is now carrying.
Northern Norway offers cheap hydropower and cold air for cooling, but the remote location adds logistical complexity.
The signal: Europe's AI infrastructure race is intensifying. Governments and lenders are lining up behind companies that can deliver sovereign compute capacity close to renewable energy sources. Nscale's ability to attract nearly $1 billion in project finance from top Nordic and European banks shows that institutional capital increasingly views AI data centres as critical — and bankable — assets.
"These developments position Nscale at the forefront of global AI infrastructure, delivering scalable, high-performance capacity to meet rapidly growing demand for our services," said founder and chief executive officer Josh Payne.
Read more: nscale.com
