Video explainer: Microsoft just walked away from what the UK called its biggest AI data center. It's not about chips. It's about power.
Microsoft just walked away from what the UK called its biggest AI data center. It's not about chips. It's about power.
@Microsoft dropped its deal to anchor @nscale's £2bn site in Loughton just outside London. About 23,000 @nvidia chips were set to go in next year but grid officials told Nscale it may not get power until the 2030s.
Rough timing for Nscale's NYSE IPO too. Bloomberg says it wants ~$30B and some investors want $16-19B. About 85% of its $103B in contracts comes from Microsoft and @AnthropicAI and only $2.6B is active today.
I think this is a power story more than a demand story because Microsoft still works with Nscale in Norway, Portugal and the US. The real AI bottleneck now is power that's ready to go.
Would you buy the Nscale IPO at $30B?
Sources: First reported by The Telegraph on Sun Oct 18 2026, published 05:30 UTC 1:30am ET · Microsoft confirmed on Mon Oct 19 "this decision relates to a single site", still "committed to our partnership with Nsc · Microsoft ended its anchor tenant deal at Nscale's planned Loughton, Essex site: Telegraph above , Guardian , BBC , FT · Microsoft ended its anchor tenant deal at Nscale's planned Loughton, Essex site: Telegraph above , Guardian , BBC , FT · Microsoft ended its anchor tenant deal at Nscale's planned Loughton, Essex site: Telegraph above , Guardian , BBC , FT · Billed by the UK government as the country's largest sovereign AI data centre: Guardian, The Register , AFP
Not financial advice. For informational and educational purposes only.
In July, Treasury fined a US company $200,000 because a subsidiary failed to report a $92,478 investment in a Chinese AI and robotics…
In July, Treasury fined a US company $200,000 because a subsidiary failed to report a $92,478 investment in a Chinese AI and robotics company. Treasury announced that first-ever penalty on Oct 7. It's the enforcement backdrop for the proposed rule Treasury put out on Thursday, Oct 22, and I think it tells you how seriously this program is going to…
Viral chart: global stocks down ~$10T from highs, South Korea -43%; a 43% drop needs a 75% gain to recover
A chart going around X this weekend says global stock markets have lost about $10 trillion from their yearly highs, with South…
US semiconductor producer prices +26% YoY in September; at that pace chip prices double in about 3 years
US producer prices for chips and electronic components rose 26% YoY in September, the 6th…
Black Monday 1987 — 22.6% in a Day, Still the Benchmark
On October 19, 1987, the Dow fell 508 points, or 22.6%, closing at 1,738.74 versus 2,246.74 on October 16, still the Dow's worst one-day percentage…
On October 19, 1987, the Dow fell 508 points, or 22.6%, closing at 1,738.74 versus 2,246.74 on October 16, still the Dow's worst one-day percentage decline on record. The S&P 500 dropped 20.47%, from 282.70 to 224.84, its own worst day. Analyses…