AQ Compute
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AQ Compute is a European colocation data center developer, founded in 2020 as a spin-out of the German investment manager Aquila Group, that builds AI-ready, sustainability-focused colocation campuses rather than reselling other operators’ space. Its flagship facility, AQ-OSL1 near Oslo, Norway, went live in February 2024 and now hosts NexGen Cloud’s GPU-based “AI Supercloud,” originally built around 20,000 NVIDIA H100 GPUs, making AQ Compute one of the few European colocation providers with a genuine, named AI/GPU tenant deployment rather than just marketing claims of AI-readiness. As of 2024, its second campus, AQ-BCN1 outside Barcelona, was under construction as a 60MW, Tier III-targeted site with plans for further expansion into the Iberian Peninsula. In October 2024, Bain Capital acquired an 80% stake in AQ Compute’s data center business, and by 2025 the platform was rebranded and expanded as “hscale,” a larger hyperscale-focused operator with Aquila retaining a 20% stake; this history means facilities originally developed under the AQ Compute name are now marketed under the hscale brand.
AQ Compute has a confirmed data center presence at the following locations:
FACILITY OPERATOR
Phone: +49 40 87 5050 607 Email: [email protected]
AQ Compute Data Center Locations
- Hønefoss, Norway AQ-OSL1AI DATA CENTER PENDING REVIEW
This facility became the launch site for NexGen Cloud's GPU "AI Supercloud," originally planned around 20,000 NVIDIA H100 Tensor Core GPUs, making it one of the first named large-scale AI GPU deployments inside a European colocation facility. - Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain AQ-BCN1AI DATA CENTER TIER III PENDING REVIEW
The campus is designed with a direct fiber link to the Barcelona submarine cable landing station and includes a dedicated training, innovation and R&D center alongside the data center buildings.
By Continent
AI Data Centers
AQ Compute's most AI-relevant site is AQ-OSL1 in Hønefoss, near Oslo, which became the home of NexGen Cloud's GPU-based "AI Supercloud." The project was planned around 20,000 NVIDIA H100 Tensor Core GPUs, described as comparable in scale to one of AWS's own GPU UltraScale clusters, and the facility was retrofitted with rear-door heat exchangers and direct liquid cooling specifically to support that dense GPU deployment efficiently. Its second campus, AQ-BCN1 near Barcelona, was also designed from the start with liquid cooling for high-density racks and Tier III principles to support future AI and HPC tenants, though as of the available reporting it lacked a named AI tenant on the scale of the Oslo site.
- Hønefoss, Norway AQ-OSL1 AI DATA CENTER PENDING REVIEW
This facility became the launch site for NexGen Cloud's GPU "AI Supercloud," originally planned around 20,000 NVIDIA H100 Tensor Core GPUs, making it one of the first named large-scale AI GPU deployments inside a European colocation facility. - Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain AQ-BCN1 AI DATA CENTER TIER IIIPENDING REVIEW
The campus is designed with a direct fiber link to the Barcelona submarine cable landing station and includes a dedicated training, innovation and R&D center alongside the data center buildings.
Common Questions
Does AQ Compute have real AI/GPU infrastructure, or is it just marketed as AI-ready?
Yes — its Oslo-area facility, AQ-OSL1 in Hønefoss, hosts NexGen Cloud's GPU cloud, which launched with a plan for 20,000 NVIDIA H100 Tensor Core GPUs, and the site uses rear-door heat exchangers and direct liquid cooling specifically built to support that high-density AI workload.
Where are AQ Compute's physical data centers located?
As of the information available, AQ Compute's confirmed operating and under-construction facilities are in Hønefoss near Oslo, Norway (operational since February 2024) and in Cerdanyola del Vallès near Barcelona, Spain (under construction from 2024), with a further site planned near Madrid.
Is AQ Compute still an independent company?
Not entirely — Bain Capital acquired an 80% stake in AQ Compute's data center business in October 2024, and the operations were rebranded and relaunched in 2025 as hscale, a larger EMEA hyperscale platform, with Aquila Group retaining a 20% stake.
Is AQ Compute a colocation provider or a cloud provider?
AQ Compute is a colocation provider — it builds and leases data center space, racks, and power capacity to tenants like NexGen Cloud, rather than selling its own branded cloud compute service directly to end customers.
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