Helsinki AI cloud Verda raises $189M Series B and becomes Europe's newest unicorn

Verda, the Helsinki-based AI cloud company formerly known as DataCrunch, announced on September 22, 2026 that it raised an oversubscribed Series B of 164.8 million euros, or 189 million dollars, led by Emergence Capital. The round pushes Verda's valuation above 1 billion dollars and its total funding past 450 million dollars, making it Europe's newest unicorn. The financing also includes additional investment beyond the lead, according to the company.

Founded in Helsinki in 2020 by Ruben Bryon, an engineer from Belgium, Verda began with a single server rack in a garage. Six years later, the company operates a full-stack AI cloud that manages everything from physical data centres and hardware to its cloud platform and AI research. It provides on-demand computing infrastructure for AI workloads and operates across Europe, the United States and Asia. Its data centres in Finland and Iceland run on renewable energy, drawing on the Nordics' natural advantages in clean electricity and cooling efficiency.

In November 2025, DataCrunch rebranded as Verda. The name is derived from the Spanish word for true and the Esperanto word for green, according to EU-Startups. The company reached a 165 million dollar annualised revenue run rate in July 2026, up from 100 million dollars and from more than 60 million dollars at the time of its April round. It is cash-flow positive and counts Nokia, 1X, ExpressVPN and Freepik among its clients. Verda employs about 250 people from more than 40 nationalities and has recently opened offices in London and San Francisco.

The Series B investors include MUFG Innovation Partners, Supermicro, Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Company, Lifeline Ventures, 6 Degrees Capital, byFounders and Tesi, the Finnish state investor. Angel investors include Ola Tørudbakken of Meta and Mark Saroufim of Core Auto and GPUMODE. Emergence Capital, which led the round, has previously invested in Salesforce and Zoom, according to Tech Funding News. Joe Floyd, a general partner at Emergence Capital, said demand for AI compute continues to outpace available supply.

Key Facts

Tech.eu reported on September 22, 2026 that Verda raised 189 million dollars in an oversubscribed Series B led by Emergence Capital, reaching unicorn status above a 1 billion dollar valuation. The financing includes the Series B plus additional investment. The round brings Verda's total funding to more than 450 million dollars. The company says it will use the money to scale its full-stack AI cloud and expand its compute capacity.

Tech Funding News reported on September 22, 2026 that Verda states its services can be up to 90 percent cheaper than those of AWS, Azure and Google Cloud. The company is cash-flow positive. In November 2025, when it renamed itself Verda, it also raised 64 million dollars in its Series A round. Verda became one of the few NVIDIA Preferred Partners and gained priority access to the limited supply of GPUs. Bryon founded the company to offer additional GPU capacity to machine learning researchers who were frustrated by the high costs and complexity of large cloud providers.

The Next Web reported on September 22, 2026 that Verda's annualised revenue run rate reached 165 million dollars in July, well above the more than 60 million dollars it reported at the time of its April round. Five months ago, Lifeline Ventures conducted a 117 million dollar round that combined equity with debt from Nordic lenders. Verda then said the amount had increased to 155 million dollars after the Nordic Investment Bank took part. The company plans to increase its computing capacity severalfold within a year.

EU-Startups reported on September 22, 2026 that Verda has raised over 392.3 million euros, or 450 million dollars, in total funding. In 2024 it raised a 12 million euro seed round. In September last year it raised 55 million euros in a Series A round led by byFounders, Skaala, Varma pension fund and Tesi. In April this year it raised nearly 102 million euros, or 117 million dollars, in equity funding led by Lifeline Ventures, and it secured a 22 million euro loan from the Nordic Investment Bank. Its data centres in Finland run on 100 percent renewable energy.

Analysis

What this really means is that Europe can build and scale a full-stack AI infrastructure champion, not just software applications or fintech. Verda's rise from a garage server rack in 2020 to a unicorn in 2026 shows that investors are willing to back capital-intensive compute businesses in Europe when the unit economics work. The company claims prices up to 90 percent lower than AWS, Azure and Google Cloud, a gap made possible by owning the entire stack and by using cheap renewable energy from Finland and Iceland. Joe Floyd of Emergence Capital said the gap between demand and supply for AI compute is growing, which gives Verda a strong tailwind.

The bigger picture here is that vertical integration plus Nordic energy is becoming a durable competitive advantage in AI cloud. Verda manages its own data centres, hardware, cloud platform and AI research, which lets it control costs and performance. That is rare among European startups, which often rely on hyperscaler infrastructure. At the same time, scaling from a 165 million dollar annualised revenue run rate to a multi-billion dollar business will require enormous capital expenditure. Verda plans to multiply its compute capacity over the next year, and it will need to secure more GPUs amid a global shortage. Its status as an NVIDIA Preferred Partner helps, but supply remains constrained.

Ruben Bryon, Verda's founder and CEO, framed the moment as a pivotal window for Europe. He said AI is becoming critical infrastructure across industries, and he wants to build the first true tech company in Europe with AI infrastructure as the starting foundation. He also wants to bring down the carbon footprint of compute worldwide. That ambition aligns with the company's 100 percent renewable data centres and its focus on inference, which will be a key area for the new funding. The investor mix, including strategic players such as Supermicro and MUFG Innovation Partners, suggests confidence in Verda's hardware and platform roadmap.

The valuation above 1 billion dollars is notable because Verda has not provided an exact figure. That leaves room for interpretation, but the oversubscribed round and the participation of established funds and angels signal strong demand. The company's total funding of more than 450 million dollars gives it a war chest to compete with larger cloud providers on price and performance. The risk is that hyperscalers could cut prices or improve their own AI offerings, but Verda's cost structure and full-stack control provide a defensible position for now.

Why It Matters

For Europe's startup ecosystem, Verda's unicorn status is a milestone because it shows that a deep-tech infrastructure company from Helsinki can attract global capital. The round was led by Emergence Capital, a US venture firm known for backing Salesforce and Zoom, and it included investors from Japan, Finland and elsewhere. That cross-border support matters for a region that has often struggled to keep its most ambitious infrastructure companies independent. Verda's success could encourage more founders to build capital-intensive AI and climate-related businesses in Europe.

For the AI industry, Verda offers an alternative to the three dominant cloud providers. Its claim of prices up to 90 percent cheaper than AWS, Azure and Google Cloud could pressure margins across the sector and make AI training and inference more accessible to smaller teams. The company serves clients such as Nokia, 1X, ExpressVPN and Freepik, and it focuses on teams developing frontier AI systems and agents. As demand for AI compute continues to outpace supply, according to Joe Floyd, providers that can add capacity quickly will capture significant value.

For the climate, Verda's data centres in Finland and Iceland run on renewable energy, and the company says it wants to bring down the carbon footprint of compute worldwide. Data centres are energy-intensive, and the Nordics offer clean electricity and efficient cooling. If Verda can grow while keeping its carbon intensity low, it could set a standard for sustainable AI infrastructure. The name Verda, derived from the Spanish word for true and the Esperanto word for green, reflects that dual ambition.

Next Up

Verda will use the new funding to accelerate product development across all layers of its AI cloud, from compute capacity to platform services for AI teams, with a particular focus on inference. It also plans to multiply its compute capacity over the next year and to expand further across Europe, the United States and Asia. The company recently opened offices in London and San Francisco, and it employs around 250 people from more than 40 nationalities.

Watch for the company to disclose more details about its exact valuation, its revenue trajectory beyond the 165 million dollar annualised run rate, and its hiring plans. The next major test will be whether Verda can continue to grow quickly while maintaining its cash-flow positive status and its price advantage. If it succeeds, it could become a template for European AI infrastructure companies seeking global scale.