Nscale Commits $865 Million to Secure 40 MW of AI Compute Capacity in North Carolina
December 24, 2025
The global race to build out artificial intelligence infrastructure has prompted another major capital commitment, this time from UK-based AI infrastructure firm Nscale. In a strategic move to expand its US footprint, the company has entered into a 10-year, $865 million colocation agreement for 40 megawatts of capacity at WhiteFiber's planned NC-1 data center complex in Madison, North Carolina.
The deal underscores the intensifying demand for high-power computing facilities tailored for AI workloads. Nscale's investment positions the NC-1 facility, a one million-square-foot complex built on 96 acres, as an anchor site for its North American operations. This agreement follows Nscale's recent pattern of large-scale commitments, including a contract with Microsoft in October to deliver 104,000 Nvidia GPUs within a 240 MW data center in Texas.
Under the terms of the new agreement, Nscale will begin payments for 20 MW of capacity in April 2026, with an additional 20 MW coming online the following month. WhiteFiber, a subsidiary of Canada's Enovum Data Centers, has invested $150 million in the North Carolina site and has granted Nscale priority notification for any future available capacity. To expedite construction to meet this demand, WhiteFiber confirmed it is in advanced discussions with several leading lenders. "WhiteFiber has taken a prudent and cautious approach to client selection," said Sam Tabar, CEO of WhiteFiber. "This agreement validates our strategy to engineer NC-1 to meet hyperscaler specifications and support the most advanced AI workloads."
Industry analysts view such long-term, high-value contracts as a defining trend for the coming year. "You’re going to see more and more of these megawatt deals," said Steven Dickens, CEO and analyst at HyperFrame research. "In 2026, I’m expecting a lot of these types of announcements." The deal is fueled by Nscale's substantial war chest, following a $1.1 billion Series B funding round in September aimed at supporting its expansion across Europe, North America, and the Middle East.
The transaction signals a maturation of the AI infrastructure market, where specialized providers are securing massive, dedicated capacity years in advance to guarantee resources for future client needs. It reflects a broader industry shift where the physical backbone of data centers and GPUs is recognized as a critical, strategic asset. As Nscale CEO Josh Payne stated during the September funding announcement, "AI is reshaping industries, economies and national strategies – but it cannot happen without the physical backbone: the data centers, the GPUs and the software to orchestrate them."
Source: datacenterknowledge
