Nscale eyes second $45bn deal with Anthropic after Microsoft setback

British AI infrastructure company Nscale is in talks with Anthropic about a second computing deal worth $45bn (£33.5bn). This comes just one day after Microsoft pulled out of its main UK data centre project.

The company, which is backed by Nvidia, is negotiating to provide the US AI company with computing power from a second site at its Monarch campus in West Virginia. The proposed deal would provide 460 megawatts of computing capacity using Nvidia's next-generation Vera Rubin chips. If agreed, it could bring Anthropic's total commitments to Nscale to almost $90bn.

The deal could be signed within days, but talks are still ongoing and the terms could change, Bloomberg reported.

The talks follow an initial deal worth $44.6bn that was signed in August. Under that agreement, Anthropic agreed to rent computing capacity at the same West Virginia campus for six years.

The possible deal comes at an important time for Nscale, which was founded in London. The company is preparing for a major stock market listing in New York as more people question the huge amounts of money being spent on AI infrastructure.

The company reportedly hopes to reach a stock market value of up to $30bn. However, some investors have argued that its value should be lower, at between $16bn and $19bn.

Nscale and Anthropic have not commented on the proposed deal.

Nscale faces growing pressure before its IPO

The talks began just one day after Microsoft withdrew from plans to build what had been described as Britain's largest AI data centre in Loughton, Essex. This was a setback for one of the UK's major AI infrastructure projects.

The £2bn project was announced last year and supported by the government. It has been delayed because of problems connecting it to the electricity grid.

Nscale said it was still committed to the project even though Microsoft had pulled out.

“Our relationship with Microsoft remains strong and long-term, and this unfortunate London-wide grid issue has no impact on our other contracts”, a spokesperson said.

Microsoft also said the decision affected only one site and that it remained committed to its wider partnership with Nscale.

The setback has raised questions about whether Nscale can complete all the data centre projects it has planned. Last week, Bloomberg reported that construction at Nscale's main site in Glomfjord, Norway, was six months behind schedule. The delays followed technical problems, including leaks in the cooling system and a fire.

Nscale reported a net loss of $1bn on revenue of $141m in the first half of 2026. Documents filed for its planned stock market listing also showed that it had not yet secured the funding needed to provide the infrastructure for its first deal with Anthropic.

Under that agreement, Anthropic can end the deal if Nscale fails to meet certain funding and operating targets.

The proposed second deal would be a strong sign that Anthropic believes in Nscale's plans to expand. However, Nscale would still need to find the money to build the extra computing infrastructure.

The talks also show how much money companies are committing to the AI boom. Developers are racing to secure the computing power needed to train and run more advanced AI models.

Anthropic has signed several infrastructure deals worth billions of dollars as demand for its Claude AI models grows. At the same time, investors are becoming more worried about the risks of debt and the challenges data centre developers face in completing projects.