Bain Capital has taken the wraps off hscale, a new hyperscale data centre developer that will channel ‘multi-billion Euro’ investment into more than 1 GW of capacity across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
The move by Bain Capital is a further deepening of the private equity firm’s push into digital infrastructure following its acquisition of AQ Compute last October. It also follows other investments from private equity companies in the data centre sphere as AI gains momentum.
Led by former Mainova WebHouse boss Oliver Schiebel, the freshly minted company arrives with a leadership team that has already delivered 6.85 GW of data-centre capacity across EMEA and APAC. Their brief is to create customer-friendly, repeatable and scalable facilities in key hubs such as Milan, Frankfurt, London, Madrid, Oslo, Barcelona and Zaragoza, where construction on more than 100 MW is already under way.
Aquila Group, which sold AQ Compute to Bain Capital, has kept a 20% stake in hscale and will feed in its renewables know-how. Together with Aquila Clean Energy, the two partners aim to weave low-carbon generation into the data centres built by hscale.
hscale Chief Executive Officer, Oliver Schiebel, noted, “hscale is set to leverage the robust capabilities and strategic assets of our heritage firm, aligning them with the innovative strategies and global expertise of Bain Capital. With access to cleaner energy projects, we will develop future-proof, scalable digital infrastructure tailored to the evolving needs of hyperscalers, driven by the rapid growth of AI and cloud services. Our friendly, honest and timely customer service sets hscale apart, allowing our customers the quickest journey to market.”
Michael Huber, a Principal at Bain Capital, added, “With a planned multi-billion Euro investment over the coming years, hscale is poised for rapid expansion. Our strategic pipeline includes over 1GW of projects in key locations such as Milan, Frankfurt, London, Madrid, Oslo, Barcelona, and Zaragoza, with more than 100MW already under construction. This positions hscale to deliver near-term solutions that meet the specific requirements of our hyperscaler clients.”
The formal public debut of hscale will come at Datacloud Global Congress, Cannes, in June, where hscale steps up as a Gold Sponsor and Chief Technology Officer Abed Jishi will join a panel on June 5 to set out the firm’s roadmap.
