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Munich, Germany - January 12, 2026 - Global investment firm Macquarie Group has agreed to provide up to EUR 117 million (~USD 136 million) in financing to support the development and expansion of AI-ready data center infrastructure with Munich-based startup Polarise GmbH, marking a significant institutional investment in European digital infrastructure.
The funding package was announced in an official joint press release from both companies, and it will be drawn down over time as Polarise advances its development roadmap. The capital will initially be used to complete the AI data center fit-out in Munich, which Polarise describes as its flagship “AI Factory,” before supporting additional data center projects across Germany and broader Europe.
Polarise, a young and rapidly expanding data center operator and infrastructure provider, focuses on building AI-optimized facilities and cloud platforms designed for high-performance computing workloads. The Munich facility is intended to serve enterprise and hyperscale customers seeking GPU-dense capacity and advanced cooling and power systems tailored for next-generation AI applications.
In a statement, Polarise CEO Michel Boutouil said the financing will help accelerate “the backbone of Europe’s AI ambitions,” enabling the company to bring forward key infrastructure that supports industry needs across sectors such as industrial automation, machine learning, and cloud services. “Partnering with Macquarie enables us to execute at the speed and scale required to meet rising compute demand,” he added.
Tom McDonell, Associate Director in Macquarie’s Specialised and Asset Finance division, emphasized the strategic nature of the partnership. “This collaboration reflects Macquarie’s commitment to innovative technology infrastructure and our confidence in Polarise’s vision for AI-ready data centers in Europe,” McDonell said. “We see strong long-term demand for facilities that can support advanced compute workloads, and this financing positions Polarise to capture that opportunity.”
The Munich project is part of Polarise’s larger European expansion strategy, which already includes operations and facilities in Oslo, Norway, and Frankfurt, Germany. The company’s German footprint is strategically important given the country’s strong industrial base, robust fiber connectivity, and growing demand for sovereign AI and cloud infrastructure.
Macquarie’s financing comes at a time when European data center development, particularly for GPU-centric AI capacity, is accelerating to narrow the gap with U.S. markets. Institutional capital such as this deal reflects growing investor confidence in the region’s long-term fundamentals, including regulatory support, renewable energy availability, and established cloud ecosystems.
Industry analysts note that partnerships between financial firms and specialized infrastructure startups are increasingly critical to closing the capital intensity gap for AI data center builds, which often require hundreds of millions in upfront investment before revenue generation. The Polarise financing is seen as a bellwether for future deals combining financial expertise with operational data center experience.
With this financing in place, Polarise aims to accelerate construction and onboarding of customers at its Munich AI Factory while advancing plans for subsequent phases of capacity deployment across Europe.
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