Serwas raises €300K to turn servers into building heaters
What's the deal? Innsbruck-based greentech startup SerwasDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → Technologies has closed the first tranche of a pre-seed round of nearly €300,000, led by Gateway VenturesDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →. Business angels from the Pioneers ClubDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and MCI Innsbruck also took part.
What's the endgame? Serwas runs decentralised server infrastructure and sells the computing power to external companies. The heat produced by those servers doubles as a heating source for buildings.
How it works: The startup places servers directly in buildings with steady heat demand — swimming pools, hotels, care homes, and larger residential complexes. Its own cooling technology draws heat off the servers and channels it into heating and hot water. Serwas operates the servers itself and handles integration with each building's existing heat infrastructure.
What's the money for? The capital will expand its first site, inside an Innsbruck indoor swimming pool, and open more locations. A second closing planned for October aims to add investors and raise further funds.
Why now? Demand for computing power is rising sharply, driven in part by AI, while classic data centres face high power-connection requirements, limited grid capacity, and long planning timelines. Serwas argues its approach lets new capacity go up faster in buildings that already have the infrastructure and heat demand.
"We want to build computing power where the resulting heat is directly needed. Servers should not only compute but also heat buildings," said co-founder Timo Berkmann (translated from German).
The signal: "Serwas connects two markets that will gain enormously in importance in the coming years: computing power and sustainable energy supply," said Markus Kainz, founder and chief executive officer of Gateway Ventures. For building operators, the pitch is lower heating costs and reduced CO₂ emissions, with waste heat reused rather than expensively discarded — positioning digital infrastructure as part of the energy transition.
Read more: moneycab.com
Image credit: kewl
