Akron Energy, a data center infrastructure company, has just announced the completion of a $110 million private funding round. According to the company’s CEO Josh Payne, the funding will be used to expand its operations and acquire new data centers across the globe. This exciting news was shared exclusively with TechCrunch, showcasing the potential and growth of Akron Energy.
“These sites appeal to both bitcoin miners and AI [or] machine learning clients who have very high power computing demands,” Payne shared.
For context, 1 megawatt can power between 400 to 900 homes a year, according to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Leading the funding round is Bluesky Capital Management, with participation from Kestrel 0x1, Nural Capital, and Florence Capital. Akron Energy, which launched in 2021 with a 5-megawatt site in Australia, has since expanded to over 130 megawatts and ventured into other countries such as the U.S. and Europe.
Payne explained that the company’s expansion is driven by the growing demand for high-powered computing. “The U.S. is an attractive market for us in many ways,” he said. “The enormous domestic customer demand, a mature and robust energy industry, political and regulatory stability, and attractiveness to institutional investors paves the way for our growth in this market.”
“The U.S. has an abundance of stranded, underutilized power generation assets that are connected to some of the lowest-cost electricity sources in the world, many of which are renewable,” Payne added.
Of the $110 million, $80 million is designated for the acquisition of a 200-megawatt capacity across new data centers in Ohio, North Carolina, and Texas. This will increase Akron Energy’s total megawatt capacity by 130% by mid-2024, in addition to their existing 100-megawatt facility in Ohio, purchased in June of this year.
According to Payne, the company’s data center portfolio in the U.S. is primarily occupied by institutional-grade bitcoin mining companies. “We are essentially a landlord who owns the underlying infrastructure assets,” he explained.
Akron Energy’s business model centers around acquiring distressed data center assets globally. “The current and future demand for data center capacity, of all types, is unprecedented and monumental,” Payne stated. “The customers we service require an immense amount of electrical infrastructure, which is professionally managed and operated.”
The remaining $30 million of the funding will be used for the development of an artificial intelligence cloud service project at Akron’s data center in Norway. This project aims to service the generative AI and large language model training markets, which have recently seen a surge in demand.
“Over the last year, there has been a profound market acceleration in demand for generative AI and large learning model applications,” Payne revealed.
This rise in demand has also led to a potential growth and adoption of bitcoin in mainstream institutional markets as a spot ETF approval looms. This bodes well for specialized data centers such as Akron’s, positioning them for continued exponential growth, according to Payne.
In conclusion, Akron Energy’s growth trajectory is fueled by the increasing need for high-powered computing and their unique business model. With the completion of this $110 million funding round, the company is ready to expand its operations and cater to the growing demand for data center capacity globally.
[…] Energy, a prominent player in the data center infrastructure industry, recently announced the successful closure of a whopping $110 million in private funding. […]