Verda achieves unicorn status with $189 million AI infrastructure funding

The Finnish AI infrastructure company Verda, formerly known as DataCruch, has achieved unicorn status following a $189 million funding round. This investment has raised the company's valuation to at least $1 billion.

Participants in the funding round included US-based Emergence Capital, Japan's MUFG Innovation Partners, technology firm Supermicro, and Finnish investors Varma and Lifeline Ventures. Varma specifically contributed approximately €51 million to the round.

Verda, an Nvidia partner, provides computing capacity for training and running AI models. The company aims to offer a European alternative to American hyperscalers like Google and Amazon. CEO Ruben Bryon stated that the new capital will be used to expand computing capacity, with a goal of raising up to $1.5 billion in total capital this year and reaching $10 billion by 2027.

Separately, the Finnish pension provider Varma reported that it has invested over €1.1 billion in domestic growth companies since the beginning of 2021. This strategy focuses on high-technology firms to secure long-term returns for pension assets while supporting the internationalization of Finnish businesses.