Announced at GTC 2026, the contract involves around 430,000 cutting-edge NVIDIA GPUs, supported by a Caterpillar natural gas power initiative, and is based on a location considered the US’s first state-certified AI microgrid, with an 8GW potential reach.
Nscale has penned a letter of intent with Microsoft to offer 1.35 gigawatts of AI computing power at a new campus in Mason County, West Virginia, using NVIDIA’s next-generation Vera Rubin NVL72 GPUs, marking the first major commercial deployment of the Vera Rubin DSX AI Factory reference architecture.
The agreement, revealed at NVIDIA’s GTC 2026 conference on March 16, includes about 430,000 Vera Rubin GPUs and is set up as a long-term framework combining a multi-year compute services agreement with a long-term data center lease.
Deliveries will start in late 2027 and be distributed in stages. The deployment will be located on a site Nscale has simultaneously acquired, the Monarch Compute Campus, a 2,250-acre area in Mason County, which Nscale claims is the first state-certified AI microgrid in the US, with an on-site energy potential expandable to over eight gigawatts.
Nscale acquired the campus by purchasing American Intelligence & Power Corporation (AIPCorp), which was backed by Fidelis New Energy and 8090 Industries.
“This collaboration with Microsoft marks a pivotal milestone both for Nscale and the development of the Monarch Campus. By integrating our specialized AI infrastructure with Microsoft’s global platform, we are creating a foundation for innovation that can scale alongside the most ambitious AI models in the world.” – Josh Payne, CEO, Nscale
Power: 2GW from Caterpillar natural gas generators by H1 2028
Supplying power to a campus of this size promptly is the key engineering challenge, and Nscale’s approach is to go off-grid rather than wait for utility-scale grid connections that might take years. Through a strategic partnership with Caterpillar, the company will implement G3500 series natural gas generator sets to attain two gigawatts of on-site power generation by the first half of 2028.
The campus will function independently from the local electricity grid, which Nscale says avoids placing a demand on existing utility customers and shields ratepayers from increased bills. The setup also permits future connectivity to the grid and potential power export to it.
“Projects like Monarch demonstrate how Caterpillar’s natural gas generation platforms are being deployed as core infrastructure for data centers and other power-intensive applications where reliability, speed of deployment, and lifecycle performance are critical.” – Melissa Busen, Senior Vice President of Electric Power, Caterpillar
Nscale is also focusing on carbon sequestration to mitigate emissions from the natural gas generators, noting access to sequestration capacity in West Virginia.
The company asserts that the high-efficiency design uses less water without affecting municipal supplies even at full 8GW capacity, a claim that hasn’t been independently confirmed but reflects the regulatory and community sensitivity faced by large-scale AI campuses in their location choices.
The Monarch agreement deepens an existing commercial connection. Microsoft is already using Nscale’s Narvik data center in Norway, where the company has operational capacity as part of its European infrastructure footprint. Aker ASA’s CEO, Øyvind Eriksen, who serves on the Nscale board following its integration of the Aker Nscale joint venture, verified in a regulatory filing on March 16 that the Monarch LOI further enhances a partnership that is already generating income for Nscale.
“Microsoft’s datacenter approach is to build the best global infrastructure informed by near-term and long-term demand. Our investments blend owned datacenters, leased facilities, and strategic collaborations. This collaboration with Nscale and NVIDIA is an important step to deliver meaningful AI innovation to our customers.” – Jon Tinter, President, Business Development and Ventures, Microsoft
“AI is becoming essential infrastructure for every industry. With this large-scale NVIDIA DSX AI Factory Blueprint, Nscale is building the infrastructure required to produce intelligence at an industrial scale and power the next wave of global innovation.” – Nico Caprez, Vice President, Global AI Infrastructure Growth, NVIDIA
Context: Nscale at $14.6 billion, one week in
The Monarch announcement arrives one week after Nscale finalized what it termed the largest Series C in European history: $2 billion led by Aker ASA and 8090 Industries, with investment from Astra Capital Management, Citadel, Dell, Jane Street, Lenovo, Linden Advisors, Nokia, NVIDIA, and Point72.
That funding round valued the UK-based company at $14.6 billion and was arranged by Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan, an advisory partnership interpreted as early IPO preparation. Nscale CEO Josh Payne has previously mentioned the company might aim to go public as soon as 2026.
Founded in 2024, Nscale has progressed swiftly. Its current operational data center footprint includes sites in Glomfjord and