Nscale Adds Sandberg and Clegg to Board as “Stargate Norway” Startup Reaches $14.6B

Nscale’s $2 billion Series C, which the company touts as “the largest in European history,” lifts its post‑money valuation to $14.6 billion, placing the Nvidia‑backed firm alongside Europe’s newest decacorns such as Helsing and Mistral AI, TechCrunch reports. The round includes a $433 million pre‑Series C SAFE that was signed in October by a consortium of Blue Owl, Dell, Nvidia and Nokia, and is co‑led by Norway’s state‑linked energy group Aker and New York‑based 8090 Industries. Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan acted as financial advisers, a signal that Nscale is positioning itself for an IPO as early as this year, a prospect confirmed by CEO Josh Payne in an interview with the New York Times.

The funding will fuel the “Stargate Norway” project, a vertically integrated AI‑infrastructure hub that Aker’s joint venture with Nscale will now fully manage. The ambition is to run 100,000 Nvidia GPUs by the end of 2026, with OpenAI already signed on as an initial customer, according to Aker president Øyvind Eriksen, who sits on Nscale’s board (TechCrunch). By controlling everything from energy supply to data‑center construction and orchestration software, Nscale hopes to lock in margins and speed up deployment for enterprise AI workloads across Europe.

Board appointments underscore the company’s push for credibility and political clout. Former Meta COO Sheryl Sandberg, former Yahoo president Susan Decker and former UK deputy prime minister Nick Clegg have all joined Nscale’s board, TechCrunch notes. Their presence is intended to help navigate the complex regulatory and funding landscape in Europe, where recent investigations by The Guardian have highlighted “phantom investments” and accounting opacity in government‑backed AI initiatives. While the Guardian’s probe casts doubt on the reality of some UK AI projects, Nscale’s disclosed investors—including Nvidia, Aker and major banks—remain verifiable.

Nscale’s rapid fundraising trajectory is notable. In September the company closed a $1.1 billion Series B led by Aker, and the new Series C brings total equity raised to over $4.5 billion in less than six months, The Next Web observes. Bloomberg and Reuters both confirm the $2 billion infusion, reinforcing the view that Nscale is the most heavily capitalised AI‑infrastructure startup in Europe. The capital will be deployed to expand data‑center capacity, secure additional GPU supply from Nvidia and accelerate the rollout of its proprietary orchestration platform, which aims to simplify large‑scale AI model training for corporate clients.

Analysts see the move as a test of Europe’s ability to compete with US‑based AI giants. By pairing deep‑pocketed industrial partners like Aker with high‑profile board members and a clear IPO roadmap, Nscale is betting that its integrated model can deliver the scale and reliability that enterprises demand. Whether the “Stargate Norway” ambition will materialise on schedule remains to be seen, but the funding round and board reshuffle signal that the company is positioning itself as a central player in the continent’s emerging AI infrastructure ecosystem.