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Amsterdam, Netherlands - January 29, 2026 - Lucend, a Dutch data center optimization startup, has raised EUR 2.7 million (~USD 3.3 million) in a seed funding round to accelerate its expansion into the United States and scale its AI-driven operational software platform.
The seed round was led by Remarkable Ventures Climate (RVC) and included participation from Mitsubishi Electric’s Innovation Fund, New Climate Ventures, Avesta Fund, Stepchange Ventures, and existing investor 4impact Capital. The funding will support hiring, technology development, and U.S. market entry for the company’s Transparent AI platform.
Lucend’s AI platform integrates directly with data center infrastructure to monitor and analyze energy, water, cooling, and equipment performance. The system generates prescriptive optimization recommendations that operators can review before implementation, improving operational efficiency while maintaining human oversight.
The startup reports that its solution has already been deployed across dozens of facilities globally, including sites in Melbourne, Singapore, Paris, London, Amsterdam, and Chicago. Operators using Lucend’s platform have achieved results such as a ~40% reduction in Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE), a ~25% reduction in power consumption, a ~30% reduction in water use, and a ~40% improvement in team efficiency.
Co-founders Jasper de Vries and René Gompel bring around 20 years of technology and operational experience each. They emphasized that Lucend’s “human-in-the-loop” model ensures AI-generated recommendations remain under operator control, fostering trust and adoption in critical infrastructure environments.
The U.S. market, home to more than half of the world’s data centers, is a strategic focus for Lucend. The company plans to expand its operations, sales, and support teams to serve hyperscale and enterprise operators seeking advanced AI-based optimization solutions.
Lucend’s investors highlighted the potential for AI-driven optimization to reduce operational costs, enhance sustainability, and improve reliability across data centers, a growing priority for operators facing rising energy prices, regulatory pressures, and the need for scalable digital infrastructure.
The funding and U.S. expansion underscore the growing role of AI-powered operational platforms in global data center management, where efficiency, speed, and sustainability have become critical competitive factors.
