Verda Secures $25 Million Loan to Scale AI Cloud Infrastructure

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Verda, a Helsinki-based AI infrastructure company, secures a $25 million NIB loan to expand its cloud capacity. With rapid growth and a focus on renewable energy, the company aims to meet rising demand for high-performance computing.

The Nordic Investment Bank (NIB) has signed a 4-year, $25 million InvestEU-backed loan with Verda (formerly DataCrunch), a Helsinki-based AI infrastructure company. This financing arrives just months after the company raised $117 million to develop its AI cloud infrastructure and expand internationally. ### Why This Loan Matters Verda is building an AI cloud infrastructure that lets developers and organizations access high-performance compute on demand and at scale, without the friction of traditional cloud procurement. The company handles everything from physical servers and data centers to the tools and services teams use to build AI. Its data centers in Finland run on 100% renewable energy, leveraging the Nordics' natural advantages in clean electricity and cooling efficiency. "AI is becoming critical infrastructure," said Ruben Bryon, founder and CEO of Verda Cloud. "With the support of NIB and our other financing partners, we can expand our capacity and keep serving AI teams with instant access to high-performance computing at scale." ### A Rapid Growth Story Founded in 2020 by Ruben Bryon, Verda has seen explosive growth. Last month, the company reported reaching a $100 million revenue run rate, having grown 10-fold in just 18 months. The company has a team of over 130 employees from more than 30 nationalities and aims to double its staff by 2026. - In September 2023, Verda raised $63 million in a Series A round led by byFounders, Skaala, Varma pension fund, and Tesi. - In 2024, it raised a $14 million Seed funding round. - The company rebranded from DataCrunch to Verda in November 2023, with the name derived from the Spanish word for 'true' and the Esperanto word for 'green.' ### What the Loan Will Fund With this new loan, Verda plans to finance the acquisition of graphics processing units (GPUs) and related networking and storage equipment. These investments will enable the development of new servers with high-performance computing capacity deployed in data centers, primarily in Finland. The loan is supported by the InvestEU programme under NIB's Framework Operation Connectivity, Data Infrastructure & Digital Technologies. Verda notes that the expanded capacity will respond to increasing demand for computing power, particularly for artificial intelligence and data-driven applications. "Access to high-performance computing is increasingly important for innovation and competitiveness," said Jeanette Vitasp, Vice-President and Head of Lending at NIB. "By supporting the expansion of cloud infrastructure in Finland, NIB is contributing to strengthening digital capacity in Europe." ### The Bigger Picture NIB is the international financial institution of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, and Sweden. The bank funds projects that enhance productivity and support environmental sustainability in the Nordic-Baltic region. It is headquartered in Helsinki with a regional hub in Riga. This loan is a strong signal that European institutions are betting big on AI infrastructure. For Verda, it's another step toward becoming a major player in the global AI cloud market, one that prioritizes sustainability and performance in equal measure.

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