UK AI firm Nscale to supply 200,000 Nvidia GPUs for Microsoft sites

Nscale has signed a deal with Microsoft to provide about 200,000 Nvidia GB300 GPUs for AI infrastructure projects in Europe and the US.

The agreement covers multiple sites, including a 240MW campus in Texas and data centers in Portugal, Norway, and the UK.

Nscale will deliver around 104,000 GPUs in Texas starting Q3 2026, 12,600 GPUs in Portugal from Q1 2026, and 23,000 GPUs in the UK from Q1 2027.

A separate joint venture with Aker ASA will supply about 52,000 GPUs to Microsoft’s Norway campus.

The deal involves collaboration with Dell Technologies and will support Microsoft Azure services and other enterprise AI needs.

🔗 Source: Nscale

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

The Texas lease covers about 240 MW at an Ionic Digital site. Public materials do not confirm grid interconnection approvals or permits, and smaller 150–240 MW storage projects in the state still take months to reach operation 1.
Build timelines often run 18 to 24 months for grid work, transformers, and liquid cooling at hyperscale sites. Start Campus’s SIN02 ordered over €20 million of transformers in August 2024 for 2026 delivery 2. Leasing adds reliance on Ionic, unlike Nscale’s owned Loughton campus or its Norway joint venture, which increases execution risk.

Start Campus’s Sines site plans 100% renewable power, net zero by 2030, and a Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) of 1.1 3. Nscale’s 12,600 GPUs there will need firm (guaranteed, around-the-clock) PPAs to support continuous AI workloads.
Sines capacity targets 1.2 GW, with SIN01 at 26 MW 3. Portugal offers competitive energy costs and strong renewable capacity 4. Local renewable developers with storage partners can bid long-term PPAs that deliver price stability for Nscale plus revenue from grid services with arbitrage upside, using EsVolta’s ERCOT storage playbook as a guide 1.