UK-based artificial intelligence infrastructure provider Nscale has secured $1.1 billion in a Series B funding round, marking the largest such investment in UK and European history. The financing was led by Norwegian investment company Aker ASA, with continued support from existing shareholders including Sandton Capital, and participation from Blue Owl Managed Funds, Dell, Fidelity Management & Research Company, G Squared, Nokia, NVIDIA, Point72 and T.Capital.

The oversubscribed funding round will accelerate Nscale's expansion across Europe, North America, and the Middle East. The capital injection follows recent announcements of Nscale's UK AI infrastructure commitment with Microsoft, NVIDIA, and OpenAI, as well as the Nscale-Aker ASA joint venture that includes Stargate Norway and a multi-billion-dollar agreement with Microsoft. The company plans to use the funds to roll out its "AI factory" data centers for projects like Stargate UK and Stargate Norway.

Aker ASA injected $285 million in cash and assets, taking a 9.3% stake in Nscale, with a potential future earn-out that could increase Aker's ownership to 12.2%. The Norwegian group also noted that its 50% stake in the Aker-Narvik joint venture can be converted into additional Nscale shares at a future initial public offering. This significant investment comes as OpenAI announced in July it would build its first European data center in Norway's Arctic city of Narvik, jointly with Nscale and Aker.

Headquartered in the UK and operating globally, Nscale provides vertically integrated computing, networking, storage, managed software, and AI services delivered through its owned and collocated data centers. The company's full-stack, GPU-first model positions it to capitalize on the growing demand for AI-native infrastructure as industries worldwide accelerate their adoption of artificial intelligence technologies.

IFK Värnamo's Allsvenskan survival hopes were extinguished on Sunday despite a dramatic stoppage-time equalizer from Marcus Antonsson against IF Brommapojkarna. The 1-1 draw at Finnvedsvallen mathematically confirmed Värnamo's relegation to Superettan with three matches remaining in the season. Victor Lind had given Brommapojkarna a late 1-0 lead with just six minutes remaining, setting the stage for Antonsson's last-gasp intervention that ultimately proved insufficient.

The result leaves Värnamo at the bottom of the table, nine points adrift of Östers IF who occupy the relegation playoff position. With Östers IF set to face fellow strugglers Degerfors IF in the next round, at least one of those clubs will reach 26 points—a tally Värnamo cannot match as their maximum possible points total stands at 25. This mathematical certainty confirms Värnamo's immediate return to the second division after three seasons in the top flight.

Värnamo's relegation marks the end of a promising top-flight journey that began with their Superettan championship in 2021. The Småland club followed their promotion with a tenth-place finish in 2022, then surprised many by finishing fifth last season before securing survival through a playoff victory against Landskrona Bois. This season's struggle has seen the team manage only one win, seven draws, and multiple losses across their campaign.

Brommapojkarna, meanwhile, secured a valuable point that strengthens their position in eleventh place, maintaining a four-point cushion above the relegation playoff spot. The Stockholm-based club made one lineup change from their previous outing, with Junior Martinsson Ngouali replacing Kåre Barslund. Värnamo coach Arne Sandstø also made an adjustment, fielding Simon Thern instead of Carl Johansson as both teams sought crucial points in their respective survival battles.