Verda Raises €100M to Build European Cloud Rival to AWS

Key Takeaways

• Verda raised €100M led by Lifeline Ventures to expand AI cloud infrastructure
• The company is cash flow positive with revenue run rate doubling to over $60M in Q1 2026
• Verda plans to hire 100+ people and expand to California and Asia while staying headquartered in Europe

€100M to Challenge American Hyperscalers

Helsinki-headquartered Verda, formerly known as Datacrunch, announced a €100 million debt and equity round led by Lifeline Ventures. The funding included participation from byFounders, Tesi, Varma, and other investors. Nordic financial institutions provided the debt financing.

The company builds cloud infrastructure for developers and organizations that need computing power for AI training and inference. Verda is vertically integrated. It handles everything from physical infrastructure to the application layer.

Europe has long relied on American hyperscalers AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud. The growing push for tech sovereignty has increased demand for homegrown compute in the region. Verda is betting that demand will continue.

Expansion Plans Across Three Continents

Verda will use the funding to accelerate AI cloud infrastructure development across Europe, the US, and Asia. The company already operates data centers in Finland and Iceland and has an office in London.

“For the time being, we're leasing data centre space and we are working on construction in Finland primarily, and then we are expanding construction to Sweden for larger sites.”

— Ruben Bryon, CEO and founder of Verda

The company plans to open additional offices in California and Asia. It currently employs more than 100 people and has raised around €170 million in total funding since the start. The company raised €55 million in September of last year.

Verda is now looking to hire another 100 people. The focus is on engineering, especially within hardware and AI research. The company has a dedicated AI lab team.

Cash Flow Positive Despite Rapid Burn

Verda says it is now cash flow positive. Revenue run rate doubled to over $60 million during the first quarter of 2026. But the capital the company raised last year only lasted until January because of a surge in demand for its compute.

That demand pattern explains the quick return to fundraising. The company burned through €55 million in roughly four months. The new €100 million round should provide more runway as Verda scales construction and operations.

European Neutrality as a Selling Point

Part of the increased demand comes from the European tech sovereignty angle. But CEO Bryon believes European neutrality can also work as a global differentiator against US-centric providers.

“We're doing this in Europe as a European company. A lot of European companies, at some point, change their headquarters to the US or Delaware. That is not something that we intend to do. We want to stay true to our goals to be a European company and more neutral. Not being a US company is quite important.”

— Ruben Bryon, CEO and founder of Verda

The commitment to European headquarters is notable. Many successful European startups eventually incorporate in Delaware for easier access to US capital markets. Verda is explicitly rejecting that path.

Building for AI Agents, Not Just Humans

Bryon started the company to solve a specific problem: the friction of talking to someone just to get compute power for machine learning work. That problem is evolving.

"What we see happening among our customers is that there's an increased desire to have as little friction as possible to help themselves with a lot of compute," Bryon says. "Today it's not just a human anymore on the other side, it can be an entire flow driven by an AI agent."

The company is building its platform to serve AI agents that need to provision compute without human intervention. As agentic AI workflows become more common, this frictionless access could become a competitive advantage.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Verda and what does it do?

Verda, formerly Datacrunch, is a Helsinki-based company that builds cloud infrastructure for AI training and inference. It operates data centers in Finland and Iceland and plans to expand to the US and Asia.

How much funding has Verda raised in total?

Verda has raised around €170 million in total funding, including the latest €100 million round led by Lifeline Ventures.

Is Verda profitable?

Verda says it is cash flow positive, with revenue run rate doubling to over $60 million during Q1 2026.

Where are Verda's data centers located?

Verda currently operates data centers in Finland and Iceland. The company is working on construction in Finland and plans to expand to Sweden for larger sites.

How is Verda different from AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud?

Verda positions itself as a European-headquartered alternative focused on AI compute. The company emphasizes European neutrality and frictionless compute access, including for AI agent workflows.

Source: Sifted