Female-led Swiss deep tech start-up Apheros secures $1.85m to cool down data centers

Apheros is a company that focuses on thermal management and is now working on creating advanced cooling solutions for data centers and the high-power computing industry. The high-performance metal foams effectively enhance heat dissipation, optimise fluid flow, and minimise energy consumption, tackling the most critical cooling difficulties encountered by the industry.

As the digital world expands, driven by the rapid growth of AI, machine learning, and supercomputing, the energy demand of data centers is escalating. Researchers project that cooling alone will account for six percent of global energy consumption by 2030. The industry must shift towards more efficient, liquid-based cooling systems. Apheros, a deep tech startup, has raised $1.85 million in a pre-seed funding round, led by Founderful, to introduce its breakthrough metal foam technology. This technology promises a superior solution to the cooling challenges faced by the industry today.

Apheros' patented manufacturing process produces metal foams with entirely open porosity and an exceptionally large surface area, outperforming traditional solutions by orders of magnitude in heat transfer and fluid flow properties. These foams, when seamlessly integrated into existing systems, offer significant reductions in energy consumption and cooling costs, making them ideal for high-performance cooling. Founded in August 2023 as a spin-off from ETH Zurich, Apheros addresses cooling needs across various applications, including high-performance computing and mobile devices.

A team with a strong track record in innovation, business development, and technology transfer leads the company. CEO and co-founder Julia Carpenter, recently recognised as one of Switzerland's Top 10 “Founders to Watch,” invented the novel metal foam manufacturing process. Co-founder and CTO Gaëlle Andreatta brings over 16 years of experience in R&D, tech transfer, and startup growth. Carpenter emphasised Apheros' technology's potential to set new industry benchmarks and reduce the global environmental impact of cooling solutions. The recent funding will accelerate production, boost research and development, and expand the market reach of their state-of-the-art solutions.

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