Latham acts as UK data centre startup Nscale raises $2bn record round

Latham & Watkins has advised British AI infrastructure startup Nscale on a record-breaking $2 billion Series C fundraise that values the fast-growing business at $14.6 billion.

The company said the round - which includes $433 million previously raised through a SAFE (a common startup financing method that converts into shares in a later round) announced in October - is the largest Series C financing ever completed by a European company.

Record AI raise

The Series C round was led by Norwegian investment group Aker and US investor 8090 Industries and backed by a roster of major institutional investors including Astra Capital Management, Citadel, Dell, Jane Street, Lenovo, Linden Advisors, Nokia, NVIDIA and Point72.

Nscale said the new capital will accelerate the expansion of its vertically integrated AI infrastructure platform, spanning GPU compute, networking, data services and orchestration software across Europe, North America and Asia.

Alongside the fundraise, the company announced several high-profile additions to its board, with former Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg and former UK deputy prime minister turned tech executive Nick Clegg joining the company.

AI boom drives mandates

Latham & Watkins advised Nscale on the fundraise with a team led by London corporate partner Shing Lo, who has been particularly active on AI deals. Lo recently advised British self-driving AI company Wayve on its $1.2 billion Series D funding round.

The mandate marks a shift for Nscale, which previously turned to Milbank for its last funding round. The New York firm advised the company on its $1.1 billion Series B in September, while Latham acted for private capital group Blue Owl, which led the SAFE financing.

Both firms have remained active for the company. In February, roles were reversed when Milbank advised Nscale on a $1.4 billion GPU-backed loan, with Latham acting for key investors including Blue Owl.

The deal is the latest example of how surging demand for AI infrastructure is generating major mandates for law firms. Among recent deals, Slaughter and May, Linklaters and Clifford Chance advised on the $4 billion sale of Nordic data centre operator atNorth.