TLDR: Helsinki-based DataCrunch has successfully raised $64 million in funding to accelerate Europe’s push for sovereign AI. The company aims to become the continent’s first AI cloud hyperscaler by expanding its renewable energy-powered GPU infrastructure and deploying Nvidia’s latest platforms, reducing Europe’s reliance on foreign cloud providers.
Helsinki, Finland – DataCrunch, a specialist in AI cloud services, has announced a significant $64 million funding round, marking a pivotal step in Europe’s ongoing drive for artificial intelligence (AI) sovereignty. This investment is set to bolster the company’s mission to accelerate ‘European AI sovereignty through renewable cloud infrastructure,’ positioning it as a key player in the continent’s technological independence.
The funding comes amidst a broader European initiative to reduce reliance on foreign, primarily US-based, cloud providers. Just recently, French generative AI (GenAI) developer Mistral AI also secured €1.7 billion, emphasizing data sovereignty as a core objective. DataCrunch’s latest capital injection will be channeled into deploying Nvidia’s cutting-edge GPU platforms and expanding its datacentre facilities, with the ultimate goal of becoming ‘Europe’s first AI cloud hyperscaler.’
DataCrunch currently operates two datacentres in Finland (Helsinki area) and one in Iceland, all powered entirely by renewable energy. The company has already initiated the construction of a new datacentre in Akaa, Finland, further solidifying its infrastructure footprint. A significant ambition includes a proposal submitted to the European Commission (EC), with support from Latvia and a network of partners, to establish one of Europe’s first ‘AI gigafactories.’ This proposed facility would be dedicated to model training and inference, potentially housing up to 100,000 accelerators, and aims to provide secure compute capacity within EU borders for startups, SMEs, and research institutions.
The company highlights the critical challenges faced by European entities due to their dependence on foreign cloud providers, citing concerns around ‘data security, regulatory compliance, and cost efficiency for startups, enterprises, research institutions and the public sector alike.’ In a statement regarding its funding, DataCrunch asserted, ‘We believe that European innovators deserve better. That’s why DataCrunch is building a sovereign, secure, and scalable AI cloud, keeping your data in Europe, fully GDPR-compliant, and outside the reach of the US Cloud Act.’
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DataCrunch offers enterprises access to its GPU-based cloud infrastructure, claiming substantial cost savings of up to 90% compared to hyperscaler prices, while also eliminating associated ‘hassles and hurdles.’ The company was also among the first globally to offer on-demand access to an Nvidia HGX B200 platform during the first half of this year, demonstrating its commitment to providing advanced AI processing resources.
