Aker ASA has successfully invested $350 million in Nscale’s Series C funding round, which, at a $15 billion valuation, marks the largest Series C in European history. This investment has resulted in Aker obtaining a 24% stake in Nscale on a fully diluted basis, amounting to 44% of Aker’s market capitalization. The ownership structure was simplified ahead of a potential IPO, as Aker’s previous 50% stake in the Narvik “Stargate” joint venture will convert into Nscale shares upon listing. This comes alongside a governance enhancement at Nscale with the addition of prominent board members, indicating a strategic move to bolster its position in the AI infrastructure sector.
Aker: Aker ASA is a Norwegian investment company with a portfolio spanning industrial ownership in energy and technology sectors, increasingly focused on AI infrastructure. It recently led Nscale’s Series C funding round and converted its stake in a Norwegian joint venture into direct ownership in the AI hyperscaler. This move simplifies its structure ahead of Nscale’s potential IPO.
Nscale: Nscale is a UK-based vertically integrated AI infrastructure provider offering data centers, GPU cloud platforms, and services for AI training and inference. The company recently closed its Series C funding round led by Aker ASA and 8090 Industries to fuel global expansion and platform enhancements. It also appointed new board directors including Sheryl Sandberg, Susan Decker, and Nick Clegg to bolster governance.
Matthew Sigel: Matthew Sigel serves as Head of Digital Assets Research at VanEck and portfolio manager for its Onchain Economy ETF. He analyzed Aker’s transition from an energy conglomerate to an AI leader, attributing it to Bitcoin-powered high-density compute expertise developed through Seetee that evolved into Nscale. His insights underscore the capital efficiency of Aker’s exposure to AI infrastructure.
`json
{
“JV Integration”: “Aker’s fifty percent ownership in the Narvik Stargate joint venture converts into Nscale shares upon listing.”,
“Funding Leadership”: “Aker ASA led Nscale’s Series C round alongside 8090 Industries, emphasizing its strategic significance in advancing AI infrastructure in Europe.”
}
`
Source: matthew_sigel
