Nscale, an AI infrastructure company, appointed former OpenAI executive Fidji Simo to its board ahead of a potential IPO.

UK-based AI infrastructure company Nscale has appointed former OpenAI executive Fidji Simo to its board as the rapidly growing data-center operator prepares for a potential public-market debut. Simo brings extensive experience across some of the technology industry’s largest firms, including OpenAI, Meta, and Instacart. Her appointment arrives as Nscale expands rapidly following its founding just two years ago, capitalizing on surging demand for infrastructure capable of supporting artificial intelligence workloads. While the company is reportedly preparing for an initial public offering this fall, the listing remains anticipated rather than confirmed.

Simo’s background positions her well for Nscale’s transition to the public markets. She previously served as chair and CEO of Instacart, guiding the grocery delivery platform through its 2023 IPO after more than a decade at Meta, where she also served as head of the Facebook app. Most recently, Simo was CEO of AGI Deployment at OpenAI, where she led the company’s advanced AI system deployment efforts. She departed OpenAI in July, citing health reasons, but continues to advise the company on a part-time basis. Simo currently also serves on Shopify’s board. This combination provides Nscale with direct expertise in AI deployment, consumer technology, large-scale platform management, and the operational, financial, and governance requirements of taking a fast-growing tech company public.

Nscale designs, builds, and operates AI data centers, positioning itself within a rapidly expanding segment of the technology infrastructure market. The proliferation of generative AI and increasingly sophisticated workloads has driven demand for substantial computing capacity. These facilities require specialized infrastructure, including high-performance accelerators, advanced networking systems, and robust power and cooling capacity. As AI companies and enterprises scale their training and operations, Nscale’s rapid expansion has correspondingly driven a sharp increase in its valuation since its inception.

Strengthening its leadership team reflects the distinct demands of preparing a technology firm for public markets. Simo joins a board that already includes prominent executives such as Sheryl Sandberg, Susan Decker, and Nick Clegg. Together, they provide Nscale with deep experience across technology operations, corporate governance, finance, communications, and large-scale platforms. For a company scaling at Nscale’s pace, this expertise becomes increasingly critical as it transitions from startup operations to the heightened transparency, financial reporting, capital allocation discipline, and long-term strategic planning expected by public investors.

Alongside its IPO preparations, Nscale is reportedly pursuing up to $3.5 billion in pre-IPO financing to support continued expansion. The scale of the potential round underscores the massive upfront capital required to develop AI infrastructure, which involves significant investment in facilities, power systems, networking equipment, and computing hardware. For infrastructure providers, access to capital directly dictates how swiftly they can add capacity amid rising demand. A successful pre-IPO raise would equip Nscale with additional resources to scale before entering the public markets, though the fundraising has not yet been finalized.

Nscale’s fundraising and listing ambitions align with broader investor trends directing substantial capital toward AI infrastructure. As AI models grow more complex, demand extends beyond chips and cloud computing to include specialized data-center capacity capable of handling intensive workloads. Providers that can secure power, deploy computing systems, and operate facilities at scale are well-positioned to capture this growth. However, competing effectively requires balancing rapid infrastructure expansion with the financial discipline expected of a public-market candidate. Founded only two years ago, Nscale’s trajectory illustrates how quickly specialized AI infrastructure startups can move from early-stage operations to large-scale capital markets. Simo’s addition equips the company with leadership that has successfully navigated both public listings and the evolving AI landscape, positioning her as a key advisor as Nscale prepares for what could be its most significant transition yet.