QScale Announces Major Financing Round from Aligned Data Centers, Bolstering Growth with Ongoing Support from Québec Government and Desjardins Capital

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May 09, 2023, 05:00 ET

Accelerating the Expansion of a Québec-Based Sustainable Digital Infrastructure Champion

LÉVIS, QC, May 9, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - QScale, a leader in world-class sustainable computing infrastructure, today announced a strategic investment by Aligned Data Centers ("Aligned"), with strong support from existing shareholders, including the government of Québec through Investissement Québec and Desjardins Capital. The investment enables QScale to rapidly accelerate its development of high-density computing center ecosystems across Québec. QScale will use the investment proceeds to develop future phases of its flagship Q01 facility and fund the development of other future campuses.

Q01 Campus – Phases 1-2 (CNW Group/QScale)

Today's announcement is a catalyst for QScale's growth strategy, providing key financing and a strong, complementary operating partner in Aligned. Aligned, which is majority owned by funds managed by Macquarie Asset Management, is a leading technology infrastructure company offering innovative, sustainable, and adaptive scale data centers and build-to-scale solutions for global hyperscale and enterprise customers. The strategic investment will enable QScale and Aligned to accelerate their growth strategies through a robust supply chain and an expanded portfolio of readily available and future data center capacity across the Americas – all backed by long-term capital investment. Aligned strongly supports QScale's vision to showcase Québec's technological talent to the world through its next-generation computing infrastructure.

Headquartered in Lévis, Québec, QScale develops environmentally responsible computing centers supporting applications such as high-performance computing ("HPC") and machine learning. QScale is focused on serving the high-density workload market, a segment for which Altman Solon has validated rapid growth – this is driven by AI processors that Omdia projects will grow at a CAGR above 35% through 2026.

QScale is positioned at the front end of the high-density computing value chain, featuring facilities equipped with cutting-edge technological infrastructure that optimizes energy efficiency and computational power. Leveraging proprietary waste heat recovery systems, QScale's facilities capture heat from high-performance servers and feed the excess thermal energy to adjacent greenhouses, aquaculture projects, and non-profit community organizations, generating significant environmental and social benefits for local Québec communities. Additionally, QScale's campuses benefit from the region's extensive hydropower and wind resources, offering renewable power at a lower cost.

In addition to providing leading computational capabilities and energy efficiency, each state-of-the-art campus is expected to bring hundreds of lucrative and skilled jobs to its local community. Global companies seeking to meet their growing computational needs while achieving their ESG objectives view QScale's campuses as ideal hubs for business and scientific research.

"We are delighted to welcome Aligned as a strategic partner and investor, supporting our mission to become a foremost sustainable digital infrastructure leader in Québec. This financing will enable us to accelerate our growth strategy and broaden our world-class high-density computing centers throughout the province, fostering skilled job opportunities and spurring economic development in local communities," said Martin Bouchard, CEO of QScale.

"Aligned is continuously innovating across every aspect of our business to ensure that the future demand for our global hyperscale and enterprise customers will be met in an innovative, sustainable, and adaptive manner. Our investment in QScale is a perfect example of our future-proof approach to expansion, and we are excited to partner with the company to accelerate its growth strategy to build leading, sustainability-focused HPC ecosystems," said Andrew Schaap, CEO of Aligned.

Timing to Close and Approval

The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2023 and is subject to regulatory approval.

Advisors

Houlihan Lokey and Scotiabank are acting as financial advisors, Desjardins Capital Markets is acting as special advisor, and Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP is acting as legal counsel to QScale. TD Securities is acting as financial advisor, while McCarthy Tétrault LLP and Latham & Watkins are acting as legal counsel to Aligned.

About Aligned Data Centers

Aligned Data Centers is a leading technology infrastructure company offering innovative, sustainable, and adaptive Scale Data Centers and Build-to-Scale solutions for global hyperscale and enterprise customers. The company's intelligent infrastructure allows densification and vertical growth within the same footprint, enabling customers to scale up without disruption, all while maintaining industry-leading Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE). By reducing the energy, water, and space needed to operate, Aligned Data Centers' solutions, combined with their patented cooling technology, offer businesses a competitive advantage by improving sustainability, reliability, and their bottom line. For more information, visit www.aligneddc.com and connect with Aligned Data Centers on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

About QScale

QScale develops environmentally responsible computing centers specifically designed for high-performance computing, supercomputing, and machine learning. The company's Quebec City area campus (QScale Q01) is the first colocation facility in Canada to receive the OCP Ready™ recognition, attesting to its energy efficiency and scalability. QScale's technology infrastructure helps meet the growing computing needs of global companies while enabling them to achieve their ESG objectives.

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SOURCE QScale