Bain Capital said that the hyperscale platform’s official debut is scheduled for June 2025
In sum – what you need to know:
Bain doubles down on EMEA – Bain Capital launched hscale, a new hyperscale platform targeting over 1GW of projects across Europe, including sites in Frankfurt, Milan, London, and Oslo.
Sustainable growth focus – hscale will integrate low-carbon energy from Aquila Group, which retains a 20% stake and is contributing capital and renewable expertise via Aquila Clean Energy.
Veteran-led expansion – Led by ex-Mainova WebHouse CEO Oliver Schiebel, hscale’s leadership team has collectively delivered 6.85GW of capacity across EMEA and APAC.
Global private investment firm Bain Capital has unveiled its new hyperscale data center platform, hscale, aimed at expanding its digital infrastructure presence across the EMEA region.
The initiative follows Bain Capital’s acquisition of AQ Compute in October 2024 and builds on the firm’s previous data center investments in Asia and the United States.
In a release, Bain Capital noted that hscale is designed from the ground up to deliver scalable, customer-centric digital infrastructure tailored to the evolving needs of hyperscale clients.
Bain Capital also stated that the new venture’s leadership team is made up of industry veterans, including CEO Oliver Schiebel, previously CEO of Mainova WebHouse. Collectively, the team has delivered 6.85 GW of data center capacity across both EMEA and APAC regions.
Aquila Group, which formerly owned AQ Compute and specializes in sustainable investments, retains a 20% equity stake in hscale. It will continue to provide its expertise in renewable energy and low-carbon solutions through its subsidiary, Aquila Clean Energy. Aquila is also backing hscale’s expansion with additional capital investment, said Bain Capital.
Oliver Schiebel, CEO of hscale, stated: “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.”
Michael Huber, 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.”
hscale’s official debut is scheduled for June 2025 at the Datacloud Global Congress in Cannes, France.
In 2024, Bain Capital had acquired an 80% stake in AQ Compute. The U.S. private investment firm did not disclose how much it spent on the majority acquisition of the European data center firm.
Aquila founded AQ Compute in 2020, with its first data center operating in Oslo, Norway and Barcelona, Spain.
Bain Capital is reportedly looking to sell the China operations of data center company WinTriX DC Group in a deal that could exceed $4 billion, according to a recent report by Reuters.
WinTriX’s China unit, formerly Chindata Group Holdings, is projected to generate around CNY4 billion ($552 million) in EBITDA in 2025, according to the report.
The move follows Bain Capital’s 2022 $3.16 billion take-private deal for Nasdaq-listed Chindata. Bain originally acquired Chindata in 2019 and merged it with Bridge Data Centres, operating across Southeast Asia. Since then, the two units have been restructured under the WinTriX brand.
The possible sale comes amid a surge in data center valuations, fueled by demand for infrastructure to support the growing demands of artificial intelligence.
Bain Capital has offices on four continents, more than 1,750 employees and approximately $185 billion in assets under management.
