Microsoft withdraws from UK data center partnership, adding uncertainty to Nscale's IPO

According to The Daily Telegraph, Microsoft (MSFT.US) has withdrawn from a data center partnership project with the emerging UK cloud service provider Nscale in Loughton, Essex. This move comes at a critical stage as Nscale prepares for its IPO, adding uncertainty to the startup's listing plans. The report states that Microsoft did not specify the exact reason for terminating the collaboration, but the project has faced a series of delays. The local government has informed Nscale that it is expected to be unable to provide power to the facility until the 2030s. In addition, Nscale’s flagship project in Norway is about six months behind its original schedule, with only 6.4 megawatts of capacity operational out of a planned 30 megawatts. According to IPO documents submitted by Nscale, about 85% of its contracts depend on Microsoft and Anthropic. Microsoft had planned to become the main tenant of Nscale’s first UK data center in Essex. Microsoft's withdrawal will deal a blow to Nscale. The company is seeking to raise up to $3 billion through its IPO, and it could be listed as soon as this month.