Swiss deep-tech start-up secures $1.85m in pre-seeding funding
Apheros aims to transform data centre cooling
Swiss deep-tech start-up Apheros has secured $1.85 million in pre-seed funding to address one of the digital infrastructure industry’s most pressing challenges: the soaring energy demands of data centres.
As data centres grow in number and complexity, driven by AI, machine learning, and supercomputing advances, their energy consumption continues to escalate.
It is estimated that cooling alone will account for 6% of global energy use by 2030. Apheros, with its innovative metal foam technology, aims to lead the transition from traditional cooling methods to more efficient, sustainable liquid-based solutions.
The funding round, led by the venture capital firm Founder, will support scaling Apheros’ pioneering metal foam-based cooling systems. These foams are engineered to optimise fluid flow and heat dissipation, surpassing traditional solutions by a factor of a thousand.
Apheros’ patented manufacturing process creates foams with open porosity and an extraordinary surface area, resulting in exceptional heat transfer properties that make them ideal for high-performance cooling applications.
Founded in 2023 as a spin-off from ETH Zurich, Apheros is led by a team with significant business development and technology transfer expertise.
Female-led
Co-founder and CEO Julia Carpenter, recently named one of Switzerland’s Top 10 Founders to Watch,’ invented the company’s novel metal foam manufacturing process. Co-founder and CTO Gaëlle Andreatta, with over 16 years of experience in R&D and start-up development, brings valuable technical and strategic insight to the company’s growth.
Carpenter said: “Our technology has the potential to set new industry standards and drastically reduce the environmental impact of cooling solutions worldwide. This funding will enable us to expand production, increase research and development efforts, and bring our state-of-the-art solutions to a wider market.”
Apheros is focusing on the rapidly expanding thermal management market, particularly liquid cooling solutions, which are increasingly crucial due to the growing demand for high-performance computing and AI. The company’s metal foam technology offers a solution to the inefficiencies of traditional cooling, which significantly contribute to rising energy consumption in data centres.
“We’re redefining thermal management,” said Andreatta. “AI-driven growth in data centre energy consumption demands more efficient cooling solutions, and our metal foams provide superior heat exchange and fluid transport properties, especially for liquid and two-phase cooling.”
With its focus on materials innovation, Apheros is poised to set a new benchmark for sustainable, high-performance liquid cooling systems. The company aims to become the gold standard for energy-efficient, environmentally friendly cooling technologies across various industries.
Lukas Weder, founding partner at Founderful, commented: “We are thrilled to support Apheros in its mission to revolutionise cooling technology. Their groundbreaking approach can significantly reduce energy consumption and set new industry standards. We are excited to see their positive impact on the industry and the environment.”
Hero image: Gaëlle Andreatta and Julia Carpenter are the co-founders of Apheros. Credit: Apheros
