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Nscale explained: Everything you need to know | Computer Weekly

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Nscale explained: Everything you need to know | Computer Weekly


The UK government has set itself an ambitious target of becoming an artificial intelligence (AI) superpower, and this is a position it is seeking to secure by championing the developers of homegrown AI tools and technologies.

As the government pithily stated in its January 2025 AI opportunities action plan document: “We must be an AI maker, not just an AI taker: we need companies at the frontier that will be our UK national champions.”

One company the government certainly seems to be championing to fill that role is AI infrastructure provider Nscale, which has previously described itself as the UK’s “only full stack sovereign AI infrastructure provider”.

Since the start of 2025, the company has received passing mentions in various ministerial speeches, building up to its CEO, Josh Payne, being quoted in press releases issued by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) about the government’s ambitious AI agenda.

On 16 September 2025, the company was name-checked as “British firm Nscale” in two government press releases – one detailing its work with ChatGPT creator OpenAI to create sovereign AI compute capacity, and another about its involvement in Microsoft’s bid to create the UK’s largest AI supercomputer in Loughton, Essex.

For a company that was, according to Companies House, only incorporated in May 2024, the calibre of its technology collaborators and the high regard the government appears to hold it in is curious to say the least.

Especially the latter’s trumpeting of the company as a British tech success story, given – as confirmed by Companies House – the majority of its directors are based in the US, and the bulk of its built datacentre infrastructure is in Norway. 

So, where did Nscale come from? And why is the government so sure its technology holds the key to it becoming an AI maker, rather than an AI taker?

What is the background to Nscale?

Nscale was incorporated in the UK on 29 May 2024, with Companies House confirming the company has seven directors, with four of them residing in the US, two in the UK and one in Australia.

Among the UK directors is the company’s chief executive Payne, who is also the only director listed as being a person of “significant control”.

Nscale is understood to have been spun out of a company founded by Payne and another individual – Nathan Townsend, also a director at Nscale – called Arkon Energy, which specialises in the provision of cryptocurrency mining and renewably powered datacentre infrastructure from sites in Ohio, the US and Norway.

In December 2023, Payne posted on LinkedIn that Arkon Energy had secured $110m in funding, which he declared to be the “largest private funding round for a bitcoin mining platform” that year.

The post stated that the funding will be used to triple the company’s US-based datacentre capacity to 300MW, and pave the way for it to launch its AI Cloud Service platform from its existing datacentre in Norway.

“It has been an amazing year for Arkon Energy, having started the year with an operating capacity of 30MW and now ending the year with a portfolio of 330MW in total that is funded, [and] expected to be fully operational by Q3 2024,” wrote Payne.

Several months later, in February 2024, there was an abortive attempt started to get Arkon Energy listed on the Euronext Amsterdam Stock Exchange via a reverse merger with a shell company known as BM3EAC.

However, nine months later, in November 2024, it was confirmed that both companies had terminated discussions on the matter, and – during the intervening period – Nscale was spun out of Arkon.

Townsend is still listed as working for Arkon Energy (and Nscale) on his LinkedIn profile, but the Arkon Energy website appears to have disappeared from the internet altogether.

What does Nscale actually do?

Nscale markets itself as an AI hyperscaler that provides the datacentres, software and applications that enterprises and governments need to deliver on their own AI ambitions.

The company has its flagship Glomfjord datacentre in Norway, which is reportedly powered by hydroelectricity, and claims to have a “global pipeline of greenfield datacentres” under development.

Does Nscale have any UK datacentres?

The company announced in January 2025 that it planned to invest $2.5bn in the UK datacentre industry over the next three years, having purchased its first UK site in Loughton.

Nscale said the site is equipped with 50MW of AI and high-performance compute capacity, which could be scaled up to 90MW, and should be live by late 2026. The company said it also plans to start building multiple modular datacentres in the UK, during the second half of 2025.

What about its partnerships and acquisitions?

Since its inception, the company has hit the acquisition trail to build out the capabilities of its AI infrastructure proposition, having snapped up Kontena, which specialises in the provision of high-density, modular generative AI datacentres, in July 2024.  

It has also struck a few high-profile partnerships, including with OpenAI. It is collaborating with the company on its Stargate Norway initiative, which will see it help deliver 290MW of renewably powered compute capacity in the country, as announced in August 2025.

The company is also working with OpenAI and Nvidia in the UK on Stargate UK, as part of a government-backed push to build out the sovereign compute capacity for the sole purpose of hosting AI models.

As previously mentioned, the company is also involved in Microsoft’s bid to create the UK’s largest AI supercomputer in Loughton.

What has the UK government said about Nscale?

Quite a bit, as it goes. The company has been name-checked in ministerial speeches and DSIT press releases a fair amount since the government published its AI opportunities action plan document on 13 January 2025.  

On that day, Nscale was described in a government press release as “one of the UK’s leading AI companies”, which is a bold claim for a company that – at that point – had only been in operation around eight months.

Exactly what information this descriptor was based on is unclear, given the company was – as confirmed by Companies House – still eight months shy of having to submit its first set of accounts at that point, which would give a clearer idea of its performance.

In another DSIT press release, released two days after the AI opportunities action plan report materialised in January 2025, Nscale is described by the government as “one of our leading home-grown success stories”.

Again, the “home-grown” descriptor is one that warrants closer examination, given that the majority of its directors are located overseas, the bulk of its infrastructure appears to be located in Norway, and the company it span out from was founded in Australia.

While Nscale was incorporated in the UK in May 2024, a profile on the company published around this time on overseas tech site IT Brief Australia also describes the company as being Norwegian.

The company does have a headquarters in the UK, and confirmed on 2 September 2025 that it is opening an office in Mayfair, London.

How is Nscale being funded?

In December 2024, Nscale announced it had raised $155m on the back of an “oversubscribed” series A funding round, which it claimed would allow it to accelerate the company’s expansion across Europe and North America.

Some 12 months before this, in December 2023, the company is understood to have also raised $30m in seed funding.

“Since launching from stealth in May 2024, Nscale has experienced insatiable demand for AI infrastructure, quickly growing its pipeline of greenfield datacentres across Europe and North America from 300MW to 1.3GW, with 120MW planned for 2025 development,” said the company, in the accompanying press release.

“The hyperscaler [Nscale] is now uniquely positioned to capitalise on the market for large-scale AI infrastructure, and can deliver bespoke GPU [graphics processing unit] clusters at any scale for governments, AI scaleups and global enterprises.”



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6 Great After-Christmas Deals to Spend Your Gift Cards On

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6 Great After-Christmas Deals to Spend Your Gift Cards On


After-Christmas deals are an excellent way to redeem any gift cards or cash you got for Christmas. You can purchase something you actually want, and you can do it for less money than usual. I’ve scoured the Internet for truly good after-Christmas deals on the gear that we’ve hand-tested on the WIRED Reviews team. Many of these sales will end this weekend, so keep that in mind while you’re shopping. Find all the highlights below.

For more inspiration, check out some of our recently updated buying guides, including the Best Office Chairs, the Best Cheap Phones, and the Best Space Heaters.

WIRED Featured Deals:

Anker Laptop Power Bank for $88 ($47 off)

We love this beefy power bank. Its 25,000-mAh capacity is more than enough for fully charging your iPhone between 4 and 6 times, and it can deliver up to 165 watts to two devices meaning that you can charge your laptop, gaming console, or anything else you fancy. The built-in USB-C cable doubles as a carrying loop. There’s also a nifty display that’ll give you at-a-glance information on remaining battery, temperature, charging speeds, and more. It has pass-through charging support and only takes about two hours to fully recharge. This deal price matches what we saw on Black Friday.

Google Pixel 10 for $599 ($200 off)

  • Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

  • Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

  • Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

Google

Pixel 10, Pixel 10 Pro, and Pixel 10 Pro XL

There was an on-page coupon (PIXEL10) that had the best price we’ve tracked for any of the phones in the Google Pixel 10 lineup. That coupon is not available as of Saturday morning, but it may be back—clip it if you see it. This is still a good deal on the smartest Android phones you can buy, with fantastic cameras, snappy processors, gorgeous displays, and more AI integration than the average person needs. Check out our dedicated buying guide to figure out which Google Pixel 10 is right for you. If you’re in the market for an upgrade, now is a good time to buy considering that we’ve never seen any phone in this flagship lineup sell for less.

Bruvi BV-01 Brewer Bundle for $228 ($120 off)—Clip the Coupon

Image may contain: Cup, Box, Beverage, Coffee, and Coffee Cup

Photograph: Louryn Strampe

I’ve tested a lot of pod coffee makers, and the Bruvi BV-01 is my favorite. This deal price is the best we see outside of special events like Black Friday and Cyber Monday. The brewer is cute and looks great on a counter, with a large reservoir, an intuitive touchscreen display, and a built-in wastebin that collects used pods for you. The best part are the proprietary B-Pods, which are designed to biodegrade in a landfill. The bundle gets you the machine plus an assortment of bestselling coffee and espresso pods to get you started.

Fitbit Charge 6 for $100 ($60 off)

Fitbit Charge 6

The Fitbit Charge 6 has been at the top of our fitness tracker buying guide since we first tested it. It’s attractive, affordable, accessible, and on sale for a match of the best deal we’ve seen. It’ll play well with iOS and Android, and it has a solid suite of features that’ll cover almost anyone’s needs—including skin temperature, heart rate readings, ECGs, activity and workout tracking, and more. The battery lasts for at least a week on a single charge. This deal comes with a six-month subscription to Fitbit Premium, which normally costs $10 per month.

Hydro Flask Standard Mouth Water Bottle for $30 ($10 off)

Hydroflask Bottle

Photograph: Dick’s Sporting Goods 

Hydro Flask

Standard Mouth Water Bottle

This budget-friendly deal gets you a steal on the best reusable water bottle. Hydro Flask bottles are durable, portable, and easy to cover in all the stickers you’ve been hoarding. The handle is flexible, the bottle is leakproof, and every component is dishwasher safe (though you may want to opt for hand-washing if you do end up plastering it in stickers). A few different colors are on sale at this price.

Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 for $200 ($50 off)

Left: Selfie of a person with short hair wearing Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 earbuds in orange. Right: curved, around-the-ear earbuds and an oval-shaped case.

If hitting the gym is one of your New Year’s resolutions for 2026, the Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 are worth considering. They’re the best workout headphones we’ve tested thanks to their comfortable and ergonomic fit, noise cancelation, spatial audio, a heart rate monitor, and the fact that they play well with both iOS and Android phones. The sound is solid, the battery life is good, and they’re water-resistant. This deal price comes within $20 of the best we’ve seen. Every color—orange, lavender, grey, and black—is on sale.


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Hyperkin’s Competitor Upgrades the Xbox Controller by Copying Sony’s Design

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Hyperkin’s Competitor Upgrades the Xbox Controller by Copying Sony’s Design


The most immediately striking difference is that Hyperkin’s product swaps the typical Xbox approach of asymmetric thumbsticks for the PlayStation’s horizontal layout. It also separates the D-pad (it’s one piece inside the pad, but splits its cardinal directions so each appears to be its own button), while the ABXY face buttons are spaced slightly further apart. Where the DualSense’s touchpad would sit, we have the Xbox home, menu, view, and share buttons, all blended in rather smartly. An LED ring around the home button just about echoes the lights running the periphery of the DualSense’s touchpad, although it’s really more of an inversion of the regular Xbox controller, where the home button itself lights up.

The Competitor’s thumbsticks come equipped with thumbcaps that mirror the PS5’s, an outer ring with a convex central point, but a pair of Xbox-standard concave caps are included. These easily pop on and off, and can be mixed and matched, if you were so (strangely) inclined.

There are two areas where this departs from both the standard Xbox and PlayStation controllers in terms of inputs. The first is the presence of two programmable rear buttons, M1 and M2. By default, these duplicate the input of the A and B buttons, but holding down the Mode button between them lets you remap them. There are also physical button locks to prevent their use entirely. The other is that while the Competitor boasts a 3.5-mm headphone jack like Microsoft’s official pad, it adds a built-in audio mute button, hidden in the black between the thumbsticks—a nice little upgrade.

Oddly Familiar

In use, the Competitor feels … well, a lot like a PS5 pad. The slightly wider grip fits in the hand comfortably, all inputs are accessible, and those symmetrical thumbsticks sit nicely in reach for all but the smallest hands. A microtextured underside provides a solid grip that, when coupled with its 232-gram weight, makes the Competitor feel particularly suited to longer play periods. It’s all very familiar if you’re already a multiformat gamer, to the extent that it sometimes slightly threw my muscle memory off, reaching a thumb out to do a PlayStation touchpad function and finding only the Xbox system buttons.

Photograph: Matt Kamen



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In Cryptoland, Memecoin Fever Gives Way to a Stablecoin Boom

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In Cryptoland, Memecoin Fever Gives Way to a Stablecoin Boom


When US president Donald Trump launched his own meme cryptocurrency on January 17, days before his return to the White House, I was halfway up a Swiss alp, attending a crypto conference in the town of St. Moritz.

Memecoins, which typically have no purpose beyond financial speculation, were having a moment. The previous year, millions of new memecoins had flooded the market; a few, like Fartcoin, had rocketed to billion-dollar valuations. Pump.Fun, a platform for launching and trading memecoins, had become one of the fastest-growing crypto launchpad businesses ever. Now, the soon-to-be president was getting in on the act.

Over lunch on the second day of the conference, beneath the ornate stucco ceiling and golden chandeliers of the venue’s dining hall, I located a table designated for a conversation about memecoins. Whereas other tables were half full, the memecoin workshop was oversubscribed; latecomers pulled up chairs to create two full rows.

The discussion was led by Nagendra Bharatula, founder of investment firm G-20 Group. Bharatula had recently coauthored a paper arguing that memecoins, despite their juvenile spirit, had a place in professional investors’ portfolios. In the six months prior, a basket of 25 “bluechip memecoins”—an oxymoron if ever there was one—had outperformed bitcoin by 150 percent, he pointed out. Some of the attendees murmured their approval.

Since then, the shine has come off the memecoin market. The paper value of Trump’s coin, which climbed to a peak of $14 billion two days after its launch, has cratered to roughly $1 billion. Hundreds of thousands of small investors lost their shirts. Pump.Fun’s daily revenue, a proxy for the overall appetite for memecoin trading, is barely more than a tenth of what it was in January. The memecoin gold rush has spawned a raft of litigation.

Next up: the stablecoin. If memecoins are symbolic of reckless abandon and unflinching profiteering in cryptoland, stablecoins are a symbol of the industry’s search for purpose and respectability. Designed to hold a steady $1 valuation, stablecoins are pitched by proponents as a faster and cheaper way to make everyday payments and international money transfers.

In a year in which the US has declared itself open for crypto business, where previously crypto firms feared regulatory backlash under the Biden administration, stablecoins have supplanted memecoins as the coin à la mode—and punctured the mainstream.

Though stablecoins have been around since 2014, they have predominantly been used by crypto traders as a safe harbor during bouts of market volatility, not by regular people. The concept has also faced resistance from regulators skeptical of a new form of money; Diem, a stablecoin venture incubated at Meta, famously shuttered in 2022 in the face of broad-based opposition.



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