Nscale, supported by Nvidia, is considering postponing its $35 billion IPO plan

According to the Daily Telegraph, the UK AI data center company Nscale is considering postponing its $35 billion (approximately £26 billion) listing plan until next year. Last week, global tech stocks faced a sell-off, with the US stock market losing $3 trillion in value, raising concerns that the Democratic "blue wave" after the US midterm elections could slow down data center construction, leading to a collective decline in valuations of highly leveraged AI companies.

Nscale originally planned to go public "soon" in New York. According to US stock market rules, if the company does not release a new quarterly financial report soon, it has only a few days left to initiate trading; insiders say no decision has been made yet, and the company is expected to announce its third-quarter financial report shortly.

Nscale submitted its application to list on the New York Stock Exchange in September this year, hoping to achieve a valuation of up to $35 billion, but some investors believe it may be less than half of that figure based on current market conditions; earlier this year, a round of financing valued it at $14.6 billion.

The listing plan has faced setbacks: Microsoft withdrew last month from a deal to lease its flagship data center in Loughton, Essex, and rejected space in other parts of the company’s facilities; delays in grid connection could push the UK site back to the next decade.

Nscale's investors include Nvidia (which was expected to reinvest $1 billion this month), and its board includes former UK Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, who is expected to gain up to $40 million from the listing, while CEO Josh Payne could receive $350 million. The company's contracts with clients such as Microsoft and Anthropic are worth over $100 billion, but they largely depend on the completion of new data centers; the company declined to comment.