WEBVTT - Former Meta COO Sheryl Sandberg and NScale CEO Josh Payne Talk Nscale

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<v Speaker 1>Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news.

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<v Speaker 2>Talking about the use of AI for that you need infrastructure.

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<v Speaker 2>We can talk about that now. Nscale, UK, developer for

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<v Speaker 2>AI data centers, is now one of your's most valuable

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<v Speaker 2>startups after raising two billion dollars in a recent round

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<v Speaker 2>which now values the company and a call fourteen point

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<v Speaker 2>six billion dollars. Now the AI hyperscalers are also looking

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<v Speaker 2>to this particular company because they want to be looking

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<v Speaker 2>for more compute. But also they've got some significant leaders

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<v Speaker 2>coming in directors including former British politician Nick Clegg Showl

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<v Speaker 2>Samburg as well longtime chief operating officer of Facebook and

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<v Speaker 2>its parent Meta. And I'm very realased to say we

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<v Speaker 2>can welcome the leadership now n Scale CEO Josh Payin

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<v Speaker 2>along with Cheryl Samburg, and is a joy to have

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<v Speaker 2>you both on the show. And Josh, some huge ambitions

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<v Speaker 2>from n Scale and just the computing power that you

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<v Speaker 2>can bring online, the revenues you're going to be generating

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<v Speaker 2>in the next few years, just talk to us about

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<v Speaker 2>how you achieve that that necessary infrastructure.

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<v Speaker 3>Josh, Well, thank you, Carolina, it's great to be here.

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<v Speaker 3>You know, firstly, what I'll say is this is the

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<v Speaker 3>fourth Industrial Revolution. This market is moving so fast and

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<v Speaker 3>we're still at the beginning. We're talking about a technology

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<v Speaker 3>that is going to lead to atomized automated drug discovery,

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<v Speaker 3>the extension of human life, truly autonomous agents, and that

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<v Speaker 3>the only thing that prevents that future is access to

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<v Speaker 3>the scarce resource, which is the compute. And so n

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<v Speaker 3>scale solves this problem. We buy and build and deploy

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<v Speaker 3>all of that infrastructure to allow for these products to

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<v Speaker 3>be built and operated. And so not only is there

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<v Speaker 3>just huge demand for the sector, but we're capturing it.

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<v Speaker 2>And that's huge demand for your expertise, Sheryl, and to

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<v Speaker 2>join boards. Why did you choose Josh? Why did you

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<v Speaker 2>back end scale? Why on the board?

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<v Speaker 1>Well, the funny part of the story starts with his part, which.

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<v Speaker 3>Is, well, so thinking about how I build the next

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<v Speaker 3>great AI platform, what was most important to me is

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<v Speaker 3>speaking to executive. It was that have built great platforms

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<v Speaker 3>before of global scale, and so certainly none better than

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<v Speaker 3>Cheryl Sandberg. And so I tried for it some time

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<v Speaker 3>to get an introduction to Cheryl, and upon finally doing so,

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<v Speaker 3>we scheduled a thirty minute call and the first thing

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<v Speaker 3>that she said to me was I don't do boards,

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<v Speaker 3>and I don't do these calls. Right, So it was

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<v Speaker 3>an inauspicious beginning.

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<v Speaker 1>But I didn't do boards and I didn't do these calls.

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<v Speaker 1>But what I saw in Josh ninety minutes into our

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<v Speaker 1>thirty minute phone call was what I considered real visionary leadership.

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<v Speaker 1>Over the next few weeks, as he was trying to

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<v Speaker 1>get me to consider joining the board, he went away

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<v Speaker 1>and he wrote a letter to his management team. And

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<v Speaker 1>the only person I'd ever seen right like that was

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<v Speaker 1>Mark Zuckerberg. This combination of a relentless, relentless desire for

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<v Speaker 1>a great, relentless desire for execution, you know. And from

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<v Speaker 1>my point of view, I joined Google when it was

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<v Speaker 1>at two hundred and fifty people left at twenty thousand.

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<v Speaker 1>I joined Facebook when it was five hundred and fifty

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<v Speaker 1>people left, you know, almost one hundred thousand. So the

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<v Speaker 1>opportunity to work with a founder I believe in, I

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<v Speaker 1>joined right as the company was about three hundred and

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<v Speaker 1>four hundred people, so that same spot, and try to

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<v Speaker 1>take some of the lessons we've learned and help a

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<v Speaker 1>company I believe in this much scale really matters. I

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<v Speaker 1>also really believe in the power of AI. I think

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<v Speaker 1>we're at the very beginning I started my career in

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<v Speaker 1>global health. AI is going to mean that anyone in

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<v Speaker 1>a remote village anywhere in the world could get skin

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<v Speaker 1>cancer diagnosed at the same efficacy rate as someone in

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<v Speaker 1>the Mayo clinic. But that is going to take a

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<v Speaker 1>buildout and a buildout of infrastructure and compute, and I

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<v Speaker 1>really believe in Josh and N Scale's ability to do that.

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<v Speaker 1>So I'm happy to.

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<v Speaker 3>Be here, Josh.

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<v Speaker 4>The term neo cloud has actually also become quite broad.

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<v Speaker 4>When I talk to people about nscale, they say, well,

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<v Speaker 4>nscale is modular. How do you set yourselves apart from

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<v Speaker 4>the other neoclouds out there, many many of whom come

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<v Speaker 4>on this program and make quite similar pitches.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah.

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<v Speaker 3>So I think the key distinction with n scale is

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<v Speaker 3>we are fully vertically integrated. Again, if you think about

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<v Speaker 3>the challenge for the sector, it's actually landing the infrastructure

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<v Speaker 3>on the ground and getting it plugged in. And the

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<v Speaker 3>true scarcity given that the demand in the sector is

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<v Speaker 3>the land, the power, and then the chips and so

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<v Speaker 3>by and large, the neocloud sector is not really vertically

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<v Speaker 3>integrated in that they don't own their own land and power.

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<v Speaker 3>N scale does. We own the land and power, We

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<v Speaker 3>own the chips, and we own the software delivering an

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<v Speaker 3>end to end service to the counterparty. In addition, we

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<v Speaker 3>recently acquired a company called American Intelligence Corporation in West Virginia,

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<v Speaker 3>which adds an even further segment to that, which is

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<v Speaker 3>the ownership of the power. This is a behind the

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<v Speaker 3>meter site, which means that we're effectively taking natural gas

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<v Speaker 3>and producing our own energy, which means it's not connected

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<v Speaker 3>to the local grid and therefore subject to any kind

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<v Speaker 3>of price increases for consumers.

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<v Speaker 4>Soyl, it's great to have you back on Bloomberg Television

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<v Speaker 4>and on Woomberg Tech. You said I don't do boards

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<v Speaker 4>historically with this role with end Scale, I think a

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<v Speaker 4>lot of people are really interested if you go back

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<v Speaker 4>to being an operator. You know, with time, if you

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<v Speaker 4>would join the executive ranks at Ndscale, and whether you

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<v Speaker 4>do or don't kind of operationally, how you think you

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<v Speaker 4>can help the company grow.

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<v Speaker 1>So I've joined as both a board member as an advisor.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm spending real time with Josh and his team. I

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<v Speaker 1>have no plans to go on board full time. They

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<v Speaker 1>have an incredible exec team, and my goal is to

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<v Speaker 1>help them scale, help figure out how we structure, how

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<v Speaker 1>we do corporate governance. I've helped recruit some other great

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<v Speaker 1>board members Nick Clagge you mentioned joined the board with me,

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<v Speaker 1>Sue Decker, who has decades of experience cheering audit committees

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<v Speaker 1>and in the financial world, and work with them to

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<v Speaker 1>really scale their company. What I see in Josh is

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<v Speaker 1>two things is really ambition, like real ambition to make

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<v Speaker 1>a difference in how the AI build out happens, make

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<v Speaker 1>it sustainable, make it clean, commitment to local jobs as

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<v Speaker 1>we scale and build, but also a commitment to excellence,

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<v Speaker 1>to hiring the best people, to getting people into the

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<v Speaker 1>right jobs, to structuring so that we can really execute.

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<v Speaker 1>And it's been it already. Has been a great pleasure

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<v Speaker 1>to work this closely with someone I believe in and

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<v Speaker 1>also Caroline, I know you always care about this. A

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<v Speaker 1>really strong team of senior women. Head of AI Infrastructure, CFO,

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<v Speaker 1>head of security. Josh before me hired what he considers

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<v Speaker 1>who he considers the best people, and a lot of

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<v Speaker 1>great women in those jobs.

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<v Speaker 2>I love that because it's something I'm passionate about it.

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<v Speaker 2>Something that you spend your career advocating for Cheryl is

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<v Speaker 2>diversity within the ranks of talent. But also you're advocating

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<v Speaker 2>as well for clean energy. And I notice what one

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<v Speaker 2>other board seeing with terror dot and that is about

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<v Speaker 2>carbon neutrality. So Josh, I ask you, what about carbon

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<v Speaker 2>neutrality for West Virginia, because that's about actual gas. Do

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<v Speaker 2>you think about that in the longer term?

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah? Sure, so broadly, the company thesis is to take

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<v Speaker 3>sustainable energy and convert it into intelligence. So we first

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<v Speaker 3>do this in the North of Norway. So we operate

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<v Speaker 3>in the North of Norway using only hydropower. The North

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<v Speaker 3>of Norway has such a large oversupply of energy due

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<v Speaker 3>to basically the seasons. Effectively, during the winter all of

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<v Speaker 3>the glaciers melt over and then in the summer they

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<v Speaker 3>all melt and create enormous waterfalls. And the Norwegian government

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<v Speaker 3>has built large hydropower dams to capture that energy. But

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<v Speaker 3>the challenge is it can't be exported and so it's

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<v Speaker 3>got to be consumed in region. So m Scale is

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<v Speaker 3>building some of the largest AI infrastructure projects on the

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<v Speaker 3>European continent in the North of Norway, taking otherwise stranded

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<v Speaker 3>energy and converting it to intelligence. The same goes for

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<v Speaker 3>our projects in Texas as an example. In Texas, you've

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<v Speaker 3>got a similar oversupply of renewables and other energy, but

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<v Speaker 3>it's in remote location. So we're building some of the

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<v Speaker 3>largest infrastructure projects in North America in this location in

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<v Speaker 3>order to convert that to intelligence. Now in West Virginia,

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<v Speaker 3>we're doing the same thing, but slightly different. In West Virginia,

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<v Speaker 3>we're producing our own energy. One of the challenges with

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<v Speaker 3>the North American grid is constrained, and so we felt

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<v Speaker 3>that producing our own energy with natural gas generators behind

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<v Speaker 3>the media was the best way to scale sustainably but

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<v Speaker 3>also not impact local prices and the grid.

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<v Speaker 4>Cheryl, you're very used to being inside companies that are

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<v Speaker 4>just truly global, right listening to what Josh is saying.

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<v Speaker 4>N Scale gets a lot of credit because it's a

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<v Speaker 4>kind of a leader in Europe, it is a footprint

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<v Speaker 4>in the United Kingdom. But we've just been talking about America.

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<v Speaker 4>How much do you want Josh, I know he's sitting

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<v Speaker 4>next to you, to shift gears a little bit and

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<v Speaker 4>move this company in himself to the US. Do you

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<v Speaker 4>want him to focus on the Middle East, where there

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<v Speaker 4>is the capital, there is the will, there is energy

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<v Speaker 4>supply for example.

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<v Speaker 1>Well, I'll let him answer that. But certainly this is global, right,

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<v Speaker 1>This is a global company started in London and continuing

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<v Speaker 1>to expand all over the world. Yeah, I mean today.

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<v Speaker 3>Today we're operating in five countries. We have plans for fifteen. Naturally,

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<v Speaker 3>North America is the center of the universe for artificial intelligence,

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<v Speaker 3>both with startups, with larger customers, with access to capital,

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<v Speaker 3>and so naturally I spent a lot of my time here,

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<v Speaker 3>but as Cheryl said, this is a global market, and

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<v Speaker 3>I'm spending most of my time on a plane as

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<v Speaker 3>a result.

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<v Speaker 4>That's a very familiar tale that you appears have told

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<v Speaker 4>us on this program. To n Scale CEO Josh pay

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<v Speaker 4>and Scale board member and advisor Cheryl Sandberg, it's great

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<v Speaker 4>to have you both on the program.