We’re thrilled to announce our co-investment in Helio, a groundbreaking addition to the Rockstart Energy portfolio. Helio has successfully secured €4.9 million in a combined equity and debt funding round. In this strategic funding initiative, Rockstart joins forces with Qbit Capital, Uebermorgen Ventures, Seed&Speed, Combination VC, ROI Ventures, Swisspreneur, and Cloud Angel Investors. Notably, Zürcher Kantonalbank (ZBK) facilitated the essential debt financing, with support from the Swiss Technology Fund.
The cloud computing industry is a powerhouse in the digital realm. However, it carries a substantial environmental footprint. Projections indicate that by 2030, this sector could consume more than 6% of the world’s total electricity demand. Alarmingly, up to 80% of computing resources in data centers remain untapped, contributing to carbon emissions and inefficiency.
This is where Helio steps in with an innovative and timely solution. Helio’s mission is to reshape the cloud computing landscape, making it more sustainable while enhancing efficiency.
Helio’s approach is refreshingly innovative. They bring together various data centers, cloud providers, and on-premise solutions into a cohesive ecosystem. At the core of Helio’s innovation lies a powerful algorithm that intelligently matches computing tasks with the most suitable cloud resources in real time. This means directing computing jobs to underutilized data centers or facilities powered by renewable energy sources like wind, a concept they term “carbon-aware cloud computing.”
Kevin Häfeli, co-founder, and CEO of Helio, expressed his excitement about this significant funding round, saying,
“We are thrilled to have raised a significant round of funding with strong partners to accelerate our journey towards building the first carbon-aware cloud. Our goal is to reduce both cloud spending and emissions for our customers while enabling the use of new types of data centers with this round.”
Rockstart is equally enthusiastic about this partnership. As Helio embarks on its mission to revolutionize cloud computing, we’re proud to support their innovative approach. By addressing the environmental impact of the industry while optimizing resource utilization, Helio is poised to make a significant impact.
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