What happened
Verda, a European AI cloud startup formerly known as DataCrunch, has raised $189 million in a Series B funding round led by Emergence Capital. The round included participation from MUFG Innovation Partners, Supermicro, Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Company, Lifeline Ventures, ENDUR, 6 Degrees Capital, byFounders, Tesi, and several angel investors. This investment brings the company's total funding to over $450 million.
The $189 million Series B round, announced on October 5, 2026, follows a $117 million round in April 2026 and a $64.6 million Series A in September 2025. The company, founded in 2020, currently operates data centers in Finland and Iceland, all powered by 100 percent renewable energy.
Verda is actively expanding its footprint with new sites planned across Europe, the UK, the US, and Asia. A specific project in the Hanhela area of Pyhäjoki, Finland, recently entered the planning and zoning phase.
The company is integrating high-end hardware to support AI workloads. This includes upcoming deployments of Nvidia Vera Rubin NVL72 systems and the use of Arm's AGI CPU, which features 136 Neoverse V3 cores on a 3nm process, designed to operate alongside Nvidia GB300 racks.
Source details: datacenterdynamics.com ↗
Why it matters
The funding provides Verda with the capital necessary to scale its specialized AI infrastructure as demand for high-performance grows. By targeting 250MW of operational capacity by 2027, the company is positioning itself as a significant European player in the AI cloud market. The investment also facilitates the deployment of advanced hardware, including Nvidia Vera Rubin NVL72 systems and Arm-based AGI CPUs, which are critical for training and running large-scale AI models. This expansion highlights the ongoing trend of specialized cloud providers building dedicated infrastructure to compete with hyperscalers.
Verda's growth reflects the broader industry shift toward 'neocloud' providers that offer specialized, high-performance environments tailored specifically for AI training and , rather than general-purpose cloud services.
The company's focus on renewable energy for its data centers addresses the increasing regulatory and environmental scrutiny surrounding the massive power consumption of AI infrastructure.
By securing backing from major industry players like Supermicro and MUFG, Verda is strengthening its supply chain and financial stability, which are essential for maintaining a competitive edge against larger, established cloud hyperscalers.
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What to watch next
Verda's ability to execute its aggressive infrastructure roadmap is the primary metric for success. The company plans to deploy Nvidia Vera Rubin NVL72 systems and integrate Arm's AGI CPUs, developed with Meta, into its data centers. Additionally, the company is working toward releasing S3-compatible object storage. Observers should monitor the progress of its planned data center sites across Europe, the UK, the US, and Asia, particularly the new project in Pyhäjoki, Finland, to see if the company meets its 250MW capacity target by 2027.
The successful integration of the Nvidia Vera Rubin NVL72 systems will be a key indicator of the company's technical capability to support next-generation AI workloads.
The company's transition toward offering S3-compatible object storage will be a significant milestone in expanding its platform's utility for enterprise customers.
The timeline for bringing new data centers online in the US and Asia will determine if Verda can successfully transition from a regional European provider to a global competitor.