Barcelona-based immersion cooling company Submer has raised $55.5M (approximately €50.32M) in a growth round of funding.
The round was led by M&G, which manages £346.1B in assets. The investment comes from M&G’s £5B Catalyst strategy, with Barclays Bank Ireland PLC acting as the placement agent.
Existing investors, including Planet First Partners, Norrsken VC, and Mundi Ventures, also participated.
Keeping it cool
Submer aims to reduce the rising energy and water consumption in datacenters, which is driven by the increasing Thermal Design Power (TDP) of chips and demand from AI applications.
In 2022, datacenters consumed 460 TWh of electricity, nearly 2 per cent of global usage, which could double by 2026. Additionally, global AI demand may require up to 6.6 billion cubic meters of water by 2027.
Traditional cooling methods are becoming inadequate, and Submer offers immersion cooling as a sustainable solution to create efficient, waterless datacenters and promote a greener, more eco-friendly industry.
Illuminating the path to immersion cooling
Founded in 2015, Submer provides immersion cooling technology for datacenters, supporting applications in high-performance computing (HPC), hyperscale, Edge, AI, deep learning, and blockchain. Headquartered in Barcelona, Spain, the company also operates a Gigafactory in Houston, Texas.
Daniel Pope and Pol Valls founded Submer with a vision of creating sustainable and future-proof digital infrastructure. The company offers products, platforms, and services aimed at improving efficiency and innovation for hyperscalers, colocation, and large industries.
Key milestones include the 2018 launch of the SmartPod, a modular immersion cooling solution, and the 2020 introduction of the MicroPod for edge computing.
Submer has expanded globally with an R&D lab in Sausalito, California, and in 2023, a lab in Taipei, Taiwan. This year, the company introduced the SmartPod EXO, a hyperscale immersion platform with heat reuse capabilities.
Capital utilisation
Submer, now in a scale-up phase, will use the funds to seize new business opportunities, enhance customer acquisition, and support clients’ infrastructure needs while meeting environmental regulations.
The company also plans to expand globally, with a focus on increasing its presence in key markets like the US and APAC regions.
Pol Valls, founder & CFO at Submer, says, “We are grateful for the strong interest from investors and are thrilled to partner with the ones who align with our sustainability values.”
“With this strong backing, we are very well positioned to continue to lead the liquid immersion cooling market and meet the growing demands of hyperscale data centers, enabling us to scale faster with our customers, while remaining focused on driving both growth and meaningful impact in our industry.”
What do the investors have to say?
M&G Catalyst, Planet First Partners, and Norrsken VC support Submer’s commitment to sustainability, accelerating its growth and meeting the demand for greener tech solutions. These investors comply with Article 9 of the EU’s Sustainability Financial Disclosure Directive (SFDR) and its Green Taxonomy, guiding investments toward companies with a positive environmental impact.
Global Head of Catalyst Investments at M&G, Niranjan Sirdeshpande, says, “As the global demand for AI and data capacity accelerates, we see Submer’s technology as a critical solution to alleviate the intensive energy and water requirements of digital infrastructure.”
“We are excited to be supporting the company at this important time as they scale their products and services globally.”
Planet First Partners, Norrsken VC (the investment arm of the non-profit Norrsken Foundation), and Tim Reynolds, former co-founder of Jane Street Capital, are impact-focused investors dedicated to supporting technologies that advance the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with an emphasis on financial inclusion and environmental sustainability.
Frédéric de Mévius, Executive Chairman at Planet First Partners, adds, “Planet First Partners is pleased to welcome M&G and to renew its commitment to Submer on this latest funding round alongside Norrsken.”
“We believe that the sustainability of datacentres is of paramount important for the growth of the global economy. Submer is uniquely positioned to mitigate the digital industry’s challenges for cooling new and more powerful processors, and to mitigate its fast-growing footprint, securing sustainability credentials and social license to operate with strong ROI.”
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