Nscale Memo Touts $100B+ Backlog, Still Eyes $30B-$35B IPO

Nscale's chief executive Josh Payne told staff in an internal memo that the UK-based AI data-centre operator holds more than $100bn in contracted revenue, as the Nvidia-backed company tries to steady a New York listing it still wants to complete by the end of 2026 at a $30bn to $35bn valuation, the Financial Times reported.

Payne said demand for Nscale's services remained "insatiable" and that the company continued delivering for customers despite wider market turbulence. Concern in the sector, he acknowledged, was "centring on how AI infrastructure companies are funding future growth," but he told employees Nscale had "a robust capital structure supported by long-term customer agreements."

The caveat sits inside the headline figure. Only $2.6bn of the more than $103bn in total contracted value Nscale disclosed as of 31 August is active; the rest reflects multi-year take-or-pay agreements that convert to revenue only as the company delivers. Microsoft and Anthropic together account for roughly 85% of that backlog, with Anthropic alone representing a six-year, $45bn compute deal.

That concentration got worse last week. Microsoft walked away from Nscale's planned Loughton site in Essex, which had been slated to host 23,000 Nvidia chips, after UK Power Networks told the company grid connection would not arrive until the early to mid-2030s. The $30bn-$35bn band itself is already a step down from earlier ambition: Bloomberg reported this month that some IPO investors were pushing the deal toward a $16bn to $19bn range. Nscale's audited revenue was $19.1m in 2024 and $33m in 2025, and first-half 2026 revenue of $140.6m came with a $1bn net loss.

The memo caps an unusually visible stretch for AI infrastructure listings. DayOne is now weighing a delay or a half-size $2.5bn-$3bn deal as the window tightens. Payne's pitch to employees is that the backlog is real and the timetable intact; the pricing conversation Nscale is having with investors suggests the market is still deciding how much of the $100bn to believe.