Bain Capital unveils hscale and charts a course for rapid expansion of hyperscale data centres across EMEA
London, UK, 21 May 2025 – Bain Capital, a leading global private investment firm, today announced the launch of hyperscale provider hscale, marking the next step in the firm’s expansion of its digital infrastructure footprint across the EMEA region. As part of this journey, which started with the acquisition of AQ Compute in October 2024, hscale is led by a newly appointed, highly experienced leadership team, and is underpinned by Bain Capital’s proven strategies from successful data centre investments in Asia and the United States.
hscale, custom built for growth and excellence, is committed to developing customer friendly, replicable and scalable digital infrastructure across the EMEA region that is bespoke to hyperscale customers’ evolving requirements.
Industry veterans make up the leadership team, including CEO Oliver Schiebel, who brings extensive experience from his tenure as CEO of Mainova WebHouse. The team has collectively delivered 6.85 GW of data centre capacity across EMEA and APAC, positioning hscale to meet the unprecedented demand for bespoke, high-capacity data centres.
Aquila Group, the former owner of AQ Compute and a leader in sustainable assets, retains a 20 percent shareholding in hscale. The company will continue to contribute its renewable energy and sustainability expertise. In collaboration with Aquila Group and its subsidiary, Aquila Clean Energy, hscale will deploy low-carbon technologies and renewable energy solutions for its hyperscaler clients. In addition, Aquila Group will support hscale’s growth ambitions with substantial investments.
hscale Chief Executive Officer, Oliver Schiebel, said: “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.”
Official Launch at Datacloud Global Congress
hscale will officially launch at the Datacloud Global Congress in Cannes in June 2025, where the company will serve as a Gold Sponsor. Chief Technology Officer, Abed Jishi, will participate in a panel discussion on 5th June, showcasing hscale’s strategic vision and commitment to excellence.
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About Bain Capital
Bain Capital is one of the world’s leading private multi-asset alternative investment firms that creates lasting impact for our investors, teams, businesses, and the communities in which we live. Since our founding in 1984, we’ve applied our insight and experience to organically expand into numerous asset classes including private equity, credit, public equity, venture capital, real estate and other strategic areas of focus. The firm has offices on four continents, more than 1,750 employees and approximately $185 billion in assets under management.
To learn more, visit www.baincapital.com.
About hscale
hscale is a pan-European data centre platform delivering sustainable and AI-ready infrastructure. Founded in 2025, it is a joint venture between Bain Capital and Aquila Group. With facilities across Europe, hscale serves hyperscalers and cloud services with high-performance, flexible infrastructure. Its designs feature ultra-high-density cooling, liquid cooling and heat reuse to support clients’ ESG goals.
Learn more at www.hscaledc.com
Press contacts:
hscale:
Stefanie Casall, hscale
stefanie.casall@hscaledc.com
APCO:
hscaleEMEA@apcoworldwide.com
For the Norwegian version of this press release, please refer to the PDF available here.
For the Italian version of this press release, please refer to the PDF available here.
For the Spanish version of this press release, please refer to the PDF available here.
Bain Capital and Aquila Group partner to build a leading sustainable data centre platform across Europe
Aquila Group, has entered a partnership with Bain Capital, one of the world’s leading private, multi-asset alternative investment firms, through which the latterhas acquired 80% of AQ Compute.
The partnership with Bain Capital, with a targeted multi-billion Euro investment volume, is aimed at significantly accelerating AQ Compute’s plans to develop and operate sustainable data centres for hyperscale and AI customers across Europe. Together, the partners aim to build a leading European data center platform, utilizing clean energy wherever feasible.
The role of data centres: data centres are essential to support an increasingly connected world, driven by rapidly expanding sectors such as AI applications, cloud computing, and big data analytics.
In 2024 alone, the world is expected to generate 1.5 times the amount of digital data it did just two years ago, which highlights the exponential growth in demand for data processing and storage capabilities. We are witnessing one of the biggest trends of our time, with AI set to significantly increase the demand for data centers, particularly hyperscale facilities, which dominate current development queues but face limitations in power and space.
AQ Compute’s future role within Aquila Group: AQ Compute will continue to play a vital role within Aquila Group, leveraging strong synergies with other business units to drive innovation and growth across the group’s ecosystem.
AQ Compute’s data centres will be sustainably powered, whenever feasible, with clean energy from Aquila Clean Energy, reinforcing a shared commitment to a greener future and strengthening the collaboration between the two companies.
The partnership enables AQ Compute to leverage Bain Capital’s expertise in building a leading pan-Asian data centre platform. Bain Capital offers a robust capital basis for AQ Compute, allowing to expand their operations and advance their data centre business to the next stage.
Please read the complete press release for further insights.