Microsoft, NVIDIA Partner With Nscale on 1.35-Gigawatt AI Campus in West Virginia
Nscale signed a letter of intent with Microsoft on Monday to build what could become one of the world's largest AI computing facilities in Mason County, West Virginia. The West Virginia Monarch AI Campus will initially deploy 1.35 gigawatts of computing capacity using NVIDIA's next-generation Vera Rubin GPUs, with potential to scale to eight gigawatts.
The announcement came during NVIDIA's GTC 2026 conference in San Jose. Nscale acquired American Intelligence & Power Corporation, which owns the 2,250-acre Monarch Compute Campus site that includes what West Virginia certifies as the nation's first state-approved AI microgrid.
Timeline and Scale
Construction begins in late 2027 and will proceed in phases. The facility will operate under a multi-year compute services agreement with Microsoft and a long-term data center lease, reflecting the project's strategic importance to both companies.
Global demand for AI computing capacity is driving the expansion. McKinsey estimates that AI-related data center demand could reach 156 gigawatts by 2030.
Infrastructure and Location
The campus will include high-speed fiber connectivity to major AI hubs in Ashburn, Virginia, and Chicago, minimizing latency for AI workloads. The site's proximity to existing cloud infrastructure centers gives it a geographic advantage for serving national AI operations.
The facility will operate independently from the local utility grid using its own power generation system. This design prevents strain on existing regional power systems and protects local ratepayers from increased costs.
Power Generation Partnership
Nscale announced a collaboration with Caterpillar to deploy G3500 series natural gas generators capable of producing up to two gigawatts by mid-2028. The rapid-deployment generators are designed to accelerate the transition from site development to operational computing.
The company plans to pursue carbon sequestration strategies to offset emissions, citing available sequestration capacity in West Virginia. At full eight-gigawatt capacity, the campus will use high-efficiency designs that minimize water consumption and avoid impacts to municipal water supplies.
Workforce Development
Marshall University partnered with Nscale to develop training and apprenticeship programs for local residents. The university will work with Mountwest Community and Technical College to prepare workers for engineering and facility management roles.
The effort coordinates with West Virginia's PowerTech Center, a statewide initiative positioning the state as a leader at the intersection of technology and energy.
For IT professionals tracking infrastructure developments: Learn more about AI for IT & Development and explore Microsoft AI Courses to understand the technologies powering large-scale deployments like Monarch.
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