Helping data centres cut energy consumption, ZeroPoint raises €3.2 million

While data centres aren’t perhaps the first topic at the dinner table, or second, or third come to think of it, they are an undeniable force in our lives. Usually humming away somewhere in the dark, often having thousands and thousands of cubic metres of cooled air passing by them on any given day.

While we’re all aware of the reasoning behind keeping said servers cool, how many of you really know the reasons behind why they run hot in the first place? If you said that the typical server memory contains up to 70% unnecessary information, and therefore uses (wastes) wattage in computational processes, read no further. For the rest of us, allow ZeroPoint Technologies CEO Klas Moreau to explain.

"ZeroPoint Technologies’ vision is to enable high-performance servers that are environmentally friendly. Memory bottlenecks are a tremendous challenge for semiconductor developers, and we mitigate this challenge by doubling main memory capacity and memory bandwidth. Systems with ZeroPoint technology are environmentally friendly and financially effective. By putting unused memory to work we can deliver up to 50% more performance per watt. And this is the single most important metric to high-performance servers.”

Given that this man has a career that includes 16.5 years at Ericsson and then just shy of 10 years, approximately four of which he served as CEO, at MindArk, I’m inclined to heed his words.

And now, armed with a fresh €3.2 million in seed capital provided by Climentum Capital, Industrifonden, Chalmers Ventures, and existing shareholders, ZeroPoint is aiming to expand the company’s international presence as well as bring a host of new products to market.

On the investment, Climentum Capital’s Malin Carlström commented, “Data centers have a rapidly increasing physical presence in the world with equally fast-growing energy consumption. Addressing this challenge is a key part of developing a sustainable industrial base in Europe and the world. The major data center players have signed up to RE100, a global initiative bringing together businesses committed to 100 percent renewable electricity, but to get there in a useful timeframe, energy consumption per server will need to go down.”