Nvidia-backed Nscale keeps its biggest customer, Bytedance, out of its IPO filing
Nscale, an Nvidia-backed AI cloud provider preparing a US IPO, left its most important customer, Bytedance, out of the main prospectus of its filing, according to a Financial Times report. Bytedance accounted for 73 percent of Nscale's $33 million in revenue in 2025, but the company is not named anywhere in the 192-page S-1. It appears only in an appendix, and only through its Singapore subsidiary, Spring.
The underlying business is a chip deal: in May 2025, Spring agreed to use 2,304 Nvidia B200 chips at a site in Glomfjord, Norway, that had previously been a crypto mining data center and was being converted into an AI data center. That contract backed a $105 million loan from Macquarie, which, combined with $35 million in equity, paid for the AI hardware.
The arrangement let Bytedance use Nvidia chips it cannot buy directly in China, exploiting a gap in US export rules. The article notes this is allowed under current rules but still carries legal and reputational risk, which is the likely reason Nscale kept Bytedance out of the prospectus's main text. Nscale says it expects its largest customer's share of revenue to drop below 20 percent this year and to keep shrinking as its contracts with Microsoft and Anthropic grow.
Key facts
- Nscale's 192-page S-1 filing for a planned US IPO does not name Bytedance anywhere in its main prospectus; Bytedance appears only in an appendix, via its Singapore subsidiary Spring.
- Bytedance accounted for 73 percent of Nscale's $33 million in total 2025 revenue.
- In May 2025, Spring agreed to use 2,304 Nvidia B200 chips at a converted former crypto mining site in Glomfjord, Norway, backed by a $105 million Macquarie loan plus $35 million in equity.
- The arrangement let Bytedance access Nvidia chips it cannot buy in China, exploiting a gap in US export rules; the article says this is legal but carries reputational and legal risk.
- Nscale expects Bytedance's share of its revenue to fall below 20 percent this year as contracts with Microsoft and Anthropic grow.
Why it matters
The filing shows how an Nvidia-backed cloud provider structured its business and its IPO paperwork to downplay a customer relationship that lets a Chinese company access Nvidia chips it cannot buy directly, a workaround for US export controls that is legal but reputationally sensitive right before a US stock listing.
Who it affects
It concerns Nscale as an IPO candidate and its investors, Bytedance as the customer whose exposure is being obscured, Nvidia as chip supplier, and Macquarie as the lender whose $105 million loan was backed by the Bytedance-linked contract.
How to use it
There is no product or service here; the story is a disclosure and governance flag for anyone evaluating Nscale's IPO, its customer concentration, or its exposure to US-China chip export rules.
How solid is it
The account rests on a Financial Times report describing the contents of Nscale's own 192-page S-1 filing, including specific revenue and chip figures; no counter-statement from Nscale on the omission itself is cited.
Risks and caveats
The source does not say why Nscale left Bytedance out of the main prospectus rather than just the appendix, nor does it give a current, updated percentage for Bytedance's share of revenue this year, only Nscale's own expectation that it will fall below 20 percent.