Nscale Bolsters Board with Former OpenAI Executive
Nscale, the high-profile U.K.-based AI data center startup, has appointed former OpenAI, Meta, and Instacart executive Fidji Simo to its board. The move comes as the company prepares for a potential initial public offering (IPO) later this year.
Simo joins an already star-studded board that includes Sheryl Sandberg, Susan Decker, and Nick Clegg, positioning Nscale with deep expertise in scaling technology platforms and navigating public markets.
Simo's Distinguished Career
Simo most recently served as CEO of AGI Deployment at OpenAI—effectively the No. 2 executive at the AI lab—before stepping down in July 2026, citing health reasons. She continues to advise the company on a part-time basis. Prior to OpenAI, Simo was chair and CEO of Instacart, where she led the company through its successful 2023 IPO. She also spent over a decade at Meta, including as head of the Facebook app, and currently sits on Shopify's board.
Leadership Perspective
Josh Payne, founder and CEO of Nscale, emphasized the strategic value of Simo's experience. "Fidji is one of the few leaders who understand what it means to scale products used by billions of people and the demands those products place on the underlying systems," he said in a statement. "That's what we're building for at Nscale. Fidji joins a board we've built deliberately, with the experience of scaling platforms to the largest in the world, and the independence, financial rigor and operating depth to which companies at this scale are held."
Rapid Growth and IPO Ambitions
Nscale's valuation has surged since its founding just two years ago, driven by booming demand for AI infrastructure. The startup, which designs, builds, and operates AI data centers, is reportedly seeking to raise up to $3.5 billion ahead of its planned IPO, according to Bloomberg. This pre-IPO financing round underscores investor confidence in Nscale's business model and its position in the rapidly expanding AI compute market.
As the AI industry continues to mature in 2026, companies like Nscale are racing to build the physical infrastructure needed to support increasingly powerful models. With Simo's appointment, Nscale signals its intent to combine technical innovation with proven operational and financial leadership as it approaches the public markets.
via TechCrunch AI