Verda secures $117M to scale its GPU cloud platform

Verda, the Helsinki-based AI cloud infrastructure provider formerly operating under the name DataCrunch, has secured $117 million in a fresh funding round. The capital consists of equity led by Lifeline Ventures, with additional support from byFounders, Tesi, and Varma, plus debt financing arranged through a consortium of Nordic banks.

This injection of funds is earmarked for accelerating product development, expanding into key markets including the UK, the US, and Asia, and adding more than 100 new employees before the year ends. Ruben Bryon, the company’s CEO and founder, described the current climate as one of “very strong momentum,” emphasizing plans to “double down on development and accelerate expansion.”

What makes this round particularly noteworthy is not just its size but what it reveals about Verda’s financial health. The company has already achieved cash-flow positivity, with its annualized revenue run rate more than doubling to surpass $60 million during the first quarter of 2026.

For a six-year-old startup operating in a capital-intensive infrastructure sector, where most rivals are burning through venture capital on GPU leases and data center construction, reaching operational profitability at this stage is rare.

That distinction matters. The $117 million serves as expansion fuel, not survival capital, setting Verda apart from better-funded but less profitable competitors.

Verda’s core offering is vertically integrated AI cloud infrastructure. The company manages every layer, from physical servers and data centers to the developer tools and services used to build and deploy AI applications. Its Finnish data centers run entirely on renewable energy, leveraging the Nordic region’s natural advantages in low-cost hydroelectric and wind power, along with efficient cooling.

This positions the company at the crossroads of two growing corporate demands: AI compute capacity and decarbonized infrastructure. Its customer roster includes names like Nokia, 1X, ExpressVPN, and Freepik.

Verda also holds Nvidia Preferred Partner status, a designation that grants it privileged access to Nvidia’s latest GPU hardware. The company’s funding trajectory reflects rapid scaling: a $13 million seed round was followed by a $64 million Series A in January 2026, led by byFounders with Skaala, Varma, and Tesi, and backed by debt from Nordea, Armada Credit Partners, Danske Bank, Norion Bank, and LocalTapiola.

The latest $117 million round nearly doubles the total capital raised in one step. Lifeline Ventures, one of Finland’s most prominent early-stage investors and a backer of companies like Supercell, takes the lead this time, replacing byFounders at the helm, though byFounders remains involved.

The company rebranded from DataCrunch to Verda in November 2025, signaling a shift from a GPU compute provider to a broader AI cloud platform. That rebrand coincided with the Series A announcement and a stronger European sovereign cloud narrative. DataCrunch had marketed itself as a GDPR-compliant alternative to US hyperscalers, outside the reach of the US Cloud Act.

That positioning remains central, but the Verda name reflects a wider ambition. Expanding into the US market, which this round targets, means competing directly with AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud on their home turf, rather than relying solely on European data residency as a differentiator.

The embedded AI Lab team, which collaborates directly with customers and channels insights back into product development, is the element that most sets Verda apart from pure infrastructure providers. In a market where GPU cloud platforms are increasingly commoditized at the hardware level, the ability to help customers extract value from that compute, through model optimization, inference tuning, and direct engineering support, represents a meaningful commercial edge.

Whether that advantage holds at the scale Verda is pursuing in the US depends on whether a Helsinki-based team can match the proximity and responsiveness that US-based rivals offer enterprise customers on the ground.