U.K.-based AI infrastructure company Nscale has appointed former OpenAI executive Fidji Simo as an independent director as it prepares for a potential public listing. Simo joins a board that already includes former Meta executives Sheryl Sandberg and Nick Clegg, as well as former Yahoo president Susan Decker.
Nscale announced the appointment on September 11, saying Simo joined the board immediately. In its official announcement, founder and CEO Josh Payne said her experience scaling products used by billions of people would be relevant as Nscale builds the infrastructure required to support large AI workloads.
Simo Brings OpenAI, Instacart and Meta Experience
Simo previously served as CEO of AGI Deployment at OpenAI, effectively making her one of the company’s most senior executives. She stepped down from the full-time position in July for health reasons but continues to advise OpenAI on a part-time basis.
Before joining OpenAI, Simo was chair and CEO of Instacart and led the grocery delivery company through its 2023 initial public offering. She also spent more than a decade at Meta, including as head of the Facebook app, and currently serves on Shopify’s board.
Simo said access to computing infrastructure can determine how quickly companies turn AI research into products used by millions of people. Her appointment adds another executive with experience operating large technology platforms as Nscale expands its infrastructure business.
Nscale Builds Toward a Potential IPO
Founded in 2024, Nscale builds and operates AI infrastructure spanning data centers, GPU computing, cloud software and energy systems. The company describes itself as a full-stack AI cloud platform, with projects across Europe and North America.
Nscale has expanded rapidly as spending on AI computing capacity increases. In March, the company raised a $2 billion Series C, while subsequent financing has supported data center projects including a major deployment in Narvik, Norway.
The startup is now reportedly seeking as much as $3.5 billion in additional financing ahead of a planned IPO. TechCrunch reported that the fundraising discussions are taking place as the company prepares for a potential listing this fall.
Nscale has also been signing large infrastructure agreements with AI companies. Earlier this month, it announced a multi-year partnership with Figure that could deploy up to 100,000 Nvidia GPUs, with an initial $3.5 billion compute commitment expected to begin in the second half of 2027.
Simo joins the board as Nscale increases both its financing activity and its commitments to customers requiring large amounts of AI computing capacity.
Featured image credits: Nscale
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