A Swedish startup named Evroc, which is working towards establishing a hyperscale cloud company in Europe, has successfully secured €50.6 million ($55 million) in Series A funding. The startup has stated that its goal is to create a “secure, sovereign and sustainable hyperscale cloud” to redefine Europe’s digital future. This development emerges amidst increasing demands for the formation of a European tech stack that operates independently of U.S. technology firms and political dynamics. Recently, a coalition from Europe’s tech sector has urged lawmakers to take “radical action” to minimize reliance on foreign-owned digital infrastructure and push for local alternatives in apps, AI models, chips, and cloud services.
Evroc is capitalizing on this momentum. The company, just three years into its operations, is planning to develop data centers and an array of cloud services. At its launch in 2023, Evroc laid out plans to construct eight data centers by 2028. Currently, the company operates two co-location facilities in Stockholm and another two in Paris. By the end of the second quarter of this year, Evroc anticipates having two additional facilities running in Frankfurt, with ongoing projects for flagship data centers in Sweden and France, expected to be completed by 2026. These will primarily support AI workloads.
The AI demand requires high energy density, and thus, Evroc’s facilities will be equipped to consume 20 times more power than traditional server racks, featuring liquid cooling along with compute and storage servers, as shared by Evroc’s CEO and founder, Mattias Åström. The company plans a formal launch later this year, and according to Åström, it is already collaborating with early beta customers in industries with a significant need for sovereignty, including defense, public sector, healthcare, and financial services. More data centers are anticipated for next year, although specifics are yet to be confirmed.
Europe’s digital sovereignty agenda isn’t a novel concept; substantial U.S. tech firms have already commenced investments in local infrastructure to comply with European Union data residency regulations. OpenAI recently launched a service that enables customers to process and store data within Europe. However, with rising geopolitical tensions, Åström emphasizes the importance of controlling European infrastructure beyond simply server locations. The recent sanction against the International Criminal Court by the U.S., which impacts tech companies serving organizations, highlights the complexities involved as the ICC heavily relies on Microsoft’s Azure for data storage.
In another instance, Elon Musk, who now plays a central role in U.S. government operations, has reportedly limited Ukrainian access to Starlink satellites, an act illustrating the importance of maintaining independent infrastructure. This underscores the EU’s commitment to developing a sovereign satellite constellation to rival Starlink.
Åström expressed his aspirations for Europe to steer its own path and aim to construct superior technology solutions. Beyond geopolitical issues, the AI revolution mandates that companies traditionally dependent on on-premises infrastructure pivot to the cloud to optimize AI benefits.
Several startups within Europe are already building local cloud infrastructures, such as FlexAI in France, DataCrunch in Finland, and Nebius in the Netherlands. Nonetheless, while these enterprises concentrate on AI computing, Evroc strives to build a comprehensive, developer-friendly hyperscale cloud comparable to AWS and other similar platforms. With over 60 employees primarily focused on software development across Sweden, France, and the U.K., Åström highlighted that the unplanned opening of the London office became necessary to recruit top-tier talent from major tech firms.
Evroc emerged from stealth two years ago with €13 million in funding, and Åström initially planned to raise up to €3 billion in capital. A recent report confirmed that the Series A round closed at €50.6 million, with contributions from U.S.-European venture firm Blisce, EQT Ventures, Norrsken VC, and Giant Ventures.
While replicating what established hyperscalers have achieved demands substantial financial investment, Åström emphasized the importance of initially developing the software stack, stating that Europe hosts many data centers but lacks an integrated cloud. This equity round aids Evroc in building that crucial software stack. The company also intends to raise a significant amount again in 2025, paralleling funding strategies of other cloud infrastructure players such as CoreWeave, which has expanded by borrowing against collateral like Nvidia chips. Åström explained that substantial additional investment would be necessary for building out data centers, although debt financing is a viable option for this purpose.
