Inside Nscale’s $790M Financing and the Microsoft Pivot at Norway’s Narvik AI Data Center

The debt facility also includes an uncommitted accordion option worth another $790 million, which lenders may provide later if the project expands further. That additional capacity could finance about 115 megawatts of extra data‑center capacity at the Narvik campus.

In practical terms, the financing allows Nscale to continue building out power infrastructure, compute capacity, and facilities required for hyperscale AI workloads.

What Happened to OpenAI’s “Stargate Norway” Plan

The Narvik campus was initially linked to OpenAI’s Stargate infrastructure initiative, which aimed to build large‑scale AI compute infrastructure globally. However, negotiations between OpenAI and Nscale did not ultimately lead to a finalized capacity agreement.

With OpenAI stepping back, Microsoft moved in to take the available capacity at the site. The shift effectively changed the narrative of the project—from an OpenAI‑anchored Stargate facility to a Microsoft‑driven AI compute deployment.

Microsoft’s New Deal for GPUs and Data‑Center Capacity

Microsoft has expanded its partnership with Nscale to deploy large amounts of AI hardware at the Narvik campus.

Key details include:

• Microsoft will deploy more than 30,000 Nvidia Rubin GPUs at the facility.
• The additional compute capacity is expected to come online around 2027.
• The GPUs will be housed at a campus designed for roughly 230MW of data‑center capacity.

Microsoft is effectively renting AI compute infrastructure from Nscale, using the facility to support Azure AI and related workloads. The company had already committed about $6.2 billion of capacity investment tied to the site, making it one of the most significant hyperscale AI deployments in the region.

Why the Accordion Financing Matters

The optional second $790 million accordion facility is a notable element of the deal structure. Rather than raising the entire amount immediately, Nscale can draw additional debt if demand for capacity continues to grow.

This structure is common in large infrastructure projects because it allows developers to:

• expand capacity quickly when customer demand rises
• align financing with construction milestones
• reduce upfront borrowing costs

For Narvik specifically, the accordion financing could fund another 115MW expansion, enabling the campus to scale alongside demand from hyperscale customers such as Microsoft.

How Nscale Fits Into the Global AI Infrastructure Race

The Narvik project is part of a broader surge in investment in AI compute infrastructure—large facilities designed to host tens of thousands of GPUs for training and running advanced AI models.

Nscale has rapidly raised capital to compete in this market. In 2026, the company completed a $2 billion Series C funding round that valued the company at about $14.6 billion, bringing total funding raised to more than $4.9 billion within roughly a year.

That funding supports a growing pipeline of AI data centers designed to serve hyperscale cloud providers and large AI developers.

The Big Picture

Nscale’s latest financing shows that the Narvik AI campus is moving forward despite the collapse of its original OpenAI‑linked storyline. With backing from major European banks and Microsoft committing to massive GPU deployments, the project is evolving into a major European hub for hyperscale AI computing.

If the accordion financing is triggered and additional capacity is built, the Narvik campus could become one of the most significant AI infrastructure projects in Europe—highlighting how demand for GPU‑powered compute is reshaping global data‑center investment.