The Nvidia-backed AI cloud company Nscale has downplayed its significant business relationship with China’s Bytedance in materials ahead of the planned US listing. This is reported by the Financial Times, citing sources and documents filed with the US SEC.
Bytedance accounted for nearly three-quarters of Nscale’s sales last year.
Bytedance was one of Nscale’s first major customers and rented access to advanced AI chips from Nvidia at the company’s facility in Norway. The arrangement enabled Bytedance to use chips that the company otherwise would not have been able to purchase in China due to US trade restrictions. According to the FT, the arrangement is legal but entails regulatory and reputational risks.
Nscale was founded in 2024 and has since signed significantly larger agreements worth several billion dollars with Microsoft and Anthropic. The company now plans to list in New York.
Nscale has declined to comment. Norwegian investment company Aker is a major shareholder in Nscale.
