Aker-Nscale JV signs Multi-Billion Dollar AI infrastructure agreement with Microsoft
Landmark deal initiates commercial execution of scalable, renewable infrastructure for AI across the continent.
OSLO, Sept. 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Nscale Global Holdings Ltd. ("Nscale"), Aker ASA ("Aker") and Microsoft Corp. today signed a binding five-year customer agreement marking a major milestone in the development of advanced European owned hyperscale AI infrastructure.
At a contract value of approximately USD 6.2 billion, the agreement secures Microsoft's access to high-performance AI compute capacity to be delivered in staged deployments beginning in 2026. Located in Narvik, Northern Norway, the project will deliver the most advanced AI infrastructure powered by secured grid capacity and entirely renewable electricity.
Jon Tinter, President of Business Development and Ventures, Microsoft said: "This demonstrates our unwavering commitment to customers in Norway and across Europe, enabling us to deliver our latest and most advanced AI services. We're inspired by how Nscale and Aker are advancing AI infrastructure powered by renewable energy, and we're excited to work with European technology innovators to bring the benefits of scalable, sustainability-driven AI to Microsoft Cloud customers.
Josh Payne, founder and CEO of Nscale said: "This agreement demonstrates our continued ability to execute at scale and establishes a new benchmark for AI infrastructure. Delivering one of the largest GPU deployments in the world reflects the unprecedented demand for compute and confirms Narvik's role as a strategic hub for AI in Europe. It's a powerful testament of Nscale's approach – bringing together data centres, GPUs and orchestration to accelerate access to AI compute while ensuring efficiency, compliance and sustainability. We are excited to continue scaling our partnership with Aker with this milestone."
Øyvind Eriksen, President & CEO of Aker said: "This agreement with Microsoft – a long-standing partner to Aker – is a milestone for the joint venture with Nscale and for Norway's role in enabling sovereign AI infrastructure. It underscores our ambition of converting clean hydropower into strategic digital capacity, and positions Narvik as a launchpad for Europe's sovereign cloud. With trusted infrastructure, renewable power, and industrial readiness, Norway is stepping into a new era of value creation – one that is digital, secure, and globally relevant."
The Aker-Nscale joint venture continues to advance as planned and is expected to be formally established during the third quarter of 2025, subject to fulfilment of closing conditions.
Cash flow generated under the agreement will support funding of the project's capital expenditures. The agreement includes standard commercial terms and safeguards appropriate for a contract of this nature.
About Nscale
Nscale is the global hyperscaler engineered for sovereign-grade AI infrastructure, delivering compute to the generative AI market at scale. Through its fully vertically integrated suite of AI solutions and GW+ greenfield data centres across Europe and North America, Nscale enables customers to run efficient and scalable AI training, fine-tuning, and inferencing workloads.
About Aker
Aker ASA is an industrial investment company headquartered in Fornebu, Norway. Founded in 1841, Aker builds and develops leading companies across energy, industrial software, renewables, and marine biotechnology. As the largest shareholder in several listed and privately held companies, Aker combines deep industrial expertise, financial strength, and capital markets insight to drive long-term value creation through active ownership.
About Microsoft
Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT" @microsoft) creates platforms and tools powered by AI to deliver innovative solutions that meet the evolving needs of our customers. The technology company is committed to making AI available broadly and doing so responsibly, with a mission to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.
Media contact:
Atle Kigen, Head of Media Relations and Public Affairs
Tel: +47 90 78 48 78
E-mail: atle.kigen@akerasa.com
Investor contact:
Fredrik Berge, Head of Investor Relations
Tel: +47 45 03 20 90
E-mail: fredrik.berge@akerasa.com
This information is considered to be inside information pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation article 7 and is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to MAR article 17 and Section 5-12 the Norwegian Securities Trading Act. This stock exchange announcement was published by Fredrik Berge, Head of IR, Aker ASA, on September 17, 2025, 16:30 CEST.
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