British data center startup Nscale is pursuing a $35 billion IPO on the New York Stock Exchange, advised by Latham and Milbank.
Latham & Watkins and Milbank have secured lead roles on the planned New York Stock Exchange listing of British AI data centre startup Nscale, which is seeking a valuation of up to $35 billion. Latham is advising Nscale on the IPO, while Milbank represents the underwriters. The company recently filed for listing and is reportedly seeking to raise as much as $3 billion, marking a significant test of investor appetite for infrastructure providers supporting the AI boom.
Nscale has achieved rapid growth since its 2024 spin-out from an Australian bitcoin mining group. Over the past 12 months, it has raised more than $3 billion across multiple funding rounds, with both Latham and Milbank as regular advisors. Its Series B and Series C rounds each set records as the largest funding rounds by a European company.
The London-based company builds and operates the computing infrastructure required to run AI models. It currently operates five data centres—three in Norway, one in Portugal, and one in Iceland—with another 12 under development. Nvidia is among its backers, and its board includes former Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg and Nick Clegg, former UK deputy prime minister turned tech executive.
According to Nscale's IPO filing, the company reported revenue of $140.6 million in the first half of 2026, compared with $10.4 million a year earlier. However, its net loss widened to $1.02 billion from $368.9 million over the same period. The company employs approximately 450 people in the UK and intends to remain domiciled there despite listing in New York.
Founder Josh Payne, 32, is reportedly in line for performance-related payouts of up to $350 million following the listing. His compensation package totaled $23 million in the previous year.
Latham's team is led by London partner Jenn Engelhardt, alongside New York partners Michael Benjamin, Ian Schuman, and Adam Gelardi. The firm previously advised Nscale on a $790 million financing for one of its Norwegian data centres, with Engelhardt involved in that transaction. Milbank's IPO team includes London-based partner David Dixter and New York partners Rod Miller and Jaime Ramirez. The lead underwriters are Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, and Morgan Stanley.