Nscale adds former OpenAI exec Fidji Simo to its board ahead of potential IPO

In Brief Posted: 9:46 AM PDT · September 11, 2026 Image Credits:David Paul Morris/Bloomberg / Getty Images Kirsten Korosec Nscale adds former OpenAI exec Fidji Simo to its board ahead of potential IPO Nscale, the buzzy U.K.-based AI data center startup, has appointed former OpenAI, Meta, and…

In Brief Posted: 9:46 AM PDT · September 11, 2026 Image Credits:David Paul Morris/Bloomberg / Getty Images Kirsten Korosec Nscale adds former OpenAI exec Fidji Simo to its board ahead of potential IPO Nscale, the buzzy U.K.-based AI data center startup, has appointed former OpenAI, Meta, and Instacart executive Fidji Simo to its board. Simo joins high-profile tech executives Sheryl Sandberg, Susan Decker, and Nick Clegg on Nscale’s board ahead of the startup’s anticipated IPO this fall. Formerly CEO of AGI deployment at OpenAI, essentially the No. 2 executive at the AI lab, Simo left the company in July citing health reasons. She still advises the company on a part-time basis. Before OpenAI, Simo was chair and CEO of Instacart, where she led the company through its 2023 IPO. She also spent more than a decade at Meta, including as head of the Facebook app. Simo also sits on Shopify’s board. Nscale’s founder and CEO, Josh Payne, said Simo 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. “That’s what we’re building for at Nscale,” he said in a statement. “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.” Nscale’s valuation has skyrocketed since it was founded just two years ago on the back of booming demand for AI infrastructure. The startup, which designs, builds, and operates AI data centers, is reportedly trying to raise up to $3.5 billion ahead of a planned IPO, Bloomberg reported last week, citing unnamed sources. Topics AI, Fidji Simo, In Brief, nscale, OpenAI, people moves October 13 – 15 San Francisco Don’t miss out. The startup community will gather to answer a pivotal question: How do you build sustainably in the AI era? REGISTER NOW Newsletters See More Subscribe for the industry’s biggest tech news Related AI OpenAI’s feud with mathematicians is only escalating Tim Fernholz 8 hours ago AI OpenAI puts Pro subscriptions on hold due to Astra demand Sarah Perez 1 day ago AI Fidji Simo steps down from OpenAI’s No. 2 role Connie Loizos Jul 9, 2026 Latest in AI Robotics Mecka AI nears $500M valuation in Sequoia-led deal amid rush for robot training data Marina Temkin 6 hours ago Venture Y Combinator’s Garry Tan wants US open-weight AI labs to ‘distill’ frontier models, too Julie Bort 8 hours ago AI OpenAI’s feud with mathematicians is only escalating Tim Fernholz 8 hours ago

Source: TechCrunch — Published September 11, 2026 at 16:46 UTC — Category: Business