Microsoft exits Nscale UK AI data center deal over grid delay
Nscale, which grew out of bitcoin mining, faces a power setback that may stretch into the 2030s. It is also moving toward a roughly $45 billion computing deal with AI lab Anthropic.
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What happened
Microsoft has pulled out of a planned UK data center project run by Nscale after the grid operator warned that power may not arrive until the 2030s. Nscale is also negotiating a large computing deal with Anthropic, and its latest filing confirms a $44.6 billion agreement with the AI lab.
Why it matters
Power delays can leave builders paying costs without earning revenue. Executives expect only a handful of the hundreds of AI cloud providers to survive.
Timeline
- Oct 19, 7:20 AM ET: Microsoft walks away from a planned Nscale AI data center in England after the local grid operator said power may be delayed.
- Oct 19, 3:39 PM ET: Bloomberg News reports that Nscale is in talks to sell computing power to Anthropic in a deal that could be worth about $45 billion.
- Oct 19, 4:49 PM ET: An Nscale SEC filing confirms a $44.6 billion Anthropic compute deal as the company seeks a $35 billion IPO valuation on the NYSE.
Coverage
- Microsoft gives data centre hopefuls a pre-IPO reality check (Financial Times)
- Cracks are emerging in investment in artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, which has underpin.. (김덕식)
- Microsoft's Nscale exit exposes $103B AI contract pipeline risk (techtarget.com)
- Microsoft Exits AI Data Center Deal After Grid Delay (Francesco Antonio Russo)
- The neocloud shakeout is coming, and Nvidia has the most to lose (the-decoder.com)
- Bitcoin mining offshoot Nscale loses Microsoft AI deal as power delay stretches into 2030s (cryptonews.net)
- Microsoft Pulls Out of Giant British AI Cloud Deal Just As Cloud Company Was Expecting to IPO (gizmodo.com)
- Cracks are appearing in investments in artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure that have support.. (김덕식)
- Microsoft withdraws from artificial intelligence data center project in Britain (voiceofemirates.com)
- Microsoft pulls out of Nscale's Essex AI data centre (BBC)
- Microsoft pulls out of AI datacentre project in Essex over power supply concerns (The Guardian)
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