Nick Clegg, the former deputy prime minister of the United Kingdom, may stand to gain around $40 million from the upcoming initial public offering (IPO) of Nscale, a UK-based data centre company preparing to list on the US stock market. Clegg owns more than 917,000 shares in the startup, which is aiming for a valuation of up to $35 billion in its flotation. Based on his 0.12% stake, this could result in a personal gain of approximately $42 million for Clegg, who previously served as president of global affairs at Meta (formerly Facebook) and has sold shares in the company for around £24 million. Alongside Clegg on Nscale’s board is Sheryl Sandberg, a former executive at Meta, who holds a 0.25% stake in the company. If the $35 billion valuation is realized, her stake could be worth about $88 million. However, Nscale’s most recent valuation in a funding round was $14.6 billion, which would lower the value of both Clegg’s and Sandberg’s stakes to about $18 million and $37 million, respectively. Both Clegg and Sandberg receive an annual retainer of $60,000 from Nscale. Nscale has filed the necessary paperwork for its IPO in the United States, with plans to debut on the stock market before the end of the year. The company is listing in New York to tap into the deep pool of capital available in the US, which is essential for funding high-cost AI infrastructure projects. Nscale reported a loss of $1 billion for the six months ending June 30, despite generating $140 million in revenue. The company attributed these losses to the “substantial investments” required in its “highly capital intensive” operations. Nscale’s CEO, Josh Payne, has emphasized the company’s focus on sovereign AI—where nations develop their own AI models and infrastructure to reduce reliance on foreign technology. This aligns with calls from European leaders, including Christine Lagarde of the European Central Bank and Margrethe Vestager, former head of the EU competition authority, for Europe to build its own AI capabilities. Payne said Nscale is well positioned to serve this demand, particularly in Europe, where the need for trusted, locally-based AI infrastructure is growing. The company currently operates five data centres in Europe, with 12 more in various stages of construction, including in the United States. However, some of its projects, like one in Loughton, Essex, have been described as underdeveloped or even located in an undeveloped scrapyard. Nscale has not yet commented on these reports.