Swedish company EcoDataCenter (EDC) recently announced securing nearly $478 million (approximately €450 million) in funding to address the growing demand for artificial intelligence (AI) computing. This funding, primarily from an undisclosed group of institutional investors, will be used to develop more environmentally friendly data center technology and construct these green buildings.
Image Source Note: Image generated by AI, licensed through Midjourney
Just two days after this funding announcement, CoreWeave, one of EDC's major clients and an AI computing giant, filed for an IPO in the US. EDC has now raised approximately €910 million (approximately $966 million) in equity financing. While its parent company, Areim, hasn't disclosed the company's valuation, it confirmed that EDC is not currently considering a separate IPO.
EcoDataCenter is committed to building more sustainable data centers, particularly colocation spaces for clients who bring their own servers and equipment. Research from the International Energy Agency shows that large data centers have extremely high electricity demands, often exceeding 100 megawatts, consuming as much electricity annually as 350,000 to 400,000 electric vehicles. Data centers account for 1% of global electricity consumption.
In this context, EDC plays a crucial role not only in meeting the growing demand for computing power but also in doing so in an environmentally responsible manner. EDC CEO Peter Michelson stated, "We are the first company globally to build data centers using cross-laminated timber." Microsoft is now following suit. Furthermore, EDC utilizes renewable energy to power its buildings and continuously researches more efficient cooling and operational materials and methods.
EDC's clients include DeepL and several "hyperscale" companies. While these hyperscale companies build their own data centers, they also lease space from third-party providers like EDC. EDC's partnership with CoreWeave is particularly well-known; they are jointly building the first Black Bear cluster in Falun, Sweden, to boost Europe's computing capacity.
The scale of EDC's funding reflects the importance of data centers, especially colocation centers, in the current AI boom. Globally, investment in data center infrastructure, particularly technology-related real estate infrastructure, is steadily increasing.
Key Highlights:
🌱 EcoDataCenter secures $478 million in funding to develop and build green data centers.
💡 The company has raised a total of €910 million and has confirmed it is not considering a separate IPO.
🚀 EDC is partnering with CoreWeave to advance Europe's computing capabilities.
