LONDON: Microsoft Corporation has reportedly withdrawn from a data centre agreement with British cloud provider Nscale in Loughton, Essex. Nscale says it remains committed to the project.
The Telegraph disclosed the cancellation on Sunday but did not specify Microsoft’s reason for withdrawing. Microsoft declined to comment.
The project has reportedly faced repeated delays, with grid officials telling Nscale not to expect a power supply until the 2030s. However, an Nscale spokesperson told Reuters that its relationship with Microsoft remained “strong and long-term”.
The company said the London-wide grid problem had no effect on its other contracts. Microsoft is one of Nscale’s two largest customers.
Meanwhile, the Nvidia-backed infrastructure provider filed for an initial public offering in the United States last month. Its prospectus identifies Microsoft and Anthropic as expected major customers.
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Nscale supplies computing capacity, power, data centres and software used to train and run artificial intelligence models. It competes with providers including CoreWeave, Nebius, Crusoe and Lambda.
Its total contracted value has grown from $100 million to more than $103 billion over two-and-a-half years. That figure reflects contracted business, not revenue already earned.
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Nscale said it was exploring alternative power sources for Loughton, along with other potential expansion sites in the UK.
