October 15， 2025
In a significant expansion of their existing partnership, UK-based AI infrastructure specialist Nscale has signed a multi-billion dollar deal to supply Microsoft with an additional 116,000 Nvidia GB300 GPUs across strategic locations in the United States and Europe. This landmark agreement, reportedly valued at $14 billion, substantially deepens the ties between the two companies and marks a major step in scaling global AI compute capacity.
The deployment will unfold across two key geographies. The bulk of the capacity, comprising 104,000 GPUs, will be housed for Microsoft at a 240MW data center facility in Barstow, Texas. Notably, this Texas site is a facility Nscale is leasing from Bitcoin miner Ionic Digital, a repurposed location that was formerly a Bitcoin mine. The delivery of Nvidia AI infrastructure services to Microsoft from this site is scheduled to begin in a phased approach starting in the third quarter of 2026. Nscale has ambitious long-term plans for the location, aiming to scale its footprint to 1.2GW over time, with Microsoft holding an option on a substantial second phase of 700MW commencing in late 2027.
Simultaneously, Nscale will deliver up to 12,600 GB300s at the Start Campus data center in Sines, Portugal, situated south of the capital, Lisbon. This European deployment is slated to be operational sooner, with its launch expected in the first quarter of 2026. The Start Campus, which is planned to eventually comprise six buildings, currently has one operational facility, SIN01, which launched in January 2025. This partnership represents a pivotal moment for Start Campus, which has navigated a challenging period involving a corruption scandal that impacted the Portuguese government and led to the arrest of several executives, though charges against the former CEO have since been dropped.
Leadership from all involved companies hailed the agreement as transformative. “Nscale is proud to partner with Microsoft on this historic AI infrastructure contract,” said Josh Payne, founder and CEO of Nscale. “This agreement confirms Nscale’s place as a partner of choice for the world’s most important technology leaders. Few companies are equipped to deliver GPU deployments at this scale, but we have the experience and have built the global pipeline to do so.” Jon Tinter of Microsoft echoed this sentiment, stating the deal demonstrates Microsoft's commitment to delivering cutting-edge AI infrastructure globally with a focus on sustainability and scalability.
Robert Dunn, the permanent CEO of Start Campus, called the Nscale deal a "defining moment," adding that the Sines campus has proven itself as a desirable location for next-generation AI workloads. This agreement is part of a rapidly expanding global collaboration between Microsoft and Nscale. Just last month, the two companies announced a $6.2 billion deal for AI compute in Norway and plans to build a supercomputer with at least 23,000 Nvidia GPUs at a planned data center in Loughton, Essex, in the UK.
Since spinning out from a Bitcoin mining operation last year, Nscale has secured over $1 billion in funding from backers including Nvidia. CEO Payne, in an interview, revealed the company has public market ambitions and is targeting a potential IPO in 2026. For Microsoft, this deal is part of a broader strategy to leverage specialized "neocloud" providers like Nscale, CoreWeave, and Nebius Group to rapidly expand its AI compute capacity and meet soaring global demand.
SOURCE DCD
