The funding round was co-led by PhotonVentures, Join Capital, and the Brabant Development Agency, with additional participation from Shift Invest.

Astrape Networks, a deeptech startup based in Eindhoven, has successfully secured €7.9 million in a seed funding round, which includes a €2.5 million grant from the European Innovation Council.

Founded in 2022 as a spin-off from Eindhoven University of Technology, Astrape aims to enhance data center networking through the integration of optical and electronic switching technology.

Ewit Roos from PhotonVentures emphasized that Astrape is tackling critical data traffic congestion in modern data centers, enhancing performance while minimizing energy consumption and carbon footprint.

CEO Francesco Pessolano noted that their solutions optimize server communication and load balancing, which leads to substantial improvements in efficiency and sustainability for data centers.

The company's solutions are targeting a rapidly growing data center market, projected to reach $624 billion by 2029, driven by advancements in cloud computing, AI, and real-time data processing.

Astrape's technology can manage 50% more traffic with fewer servers, significantly increasing utilization rates while supporting over 16 million GPUs/xPUs per network and reducing energy usage by 60%.

The leadership team includes CEO Francesco Pessolano, CTO Marco Camilli, and Prof. Nicola Calabretta, each bringing valuable expertise in business development, computer networking, and optical communication respectively.

Prior to this seed round, Astrape raised €1.6 million in pre-seed funding in 2023 to further develop its technology.

Investors, including Sebastian von Ribbentrop and Ivana Sersic Vollenbroek, have expressed confidence in Astrape's potential to revolutionize data center efficiency and support the photonic ecosystem in the Netherlands.

The new funding will enhance Astrape’s capabilities in boosting data center efficiency, which is crucial for the expansion of AI and high-performance computing infrastructure in Europe.