Helsinki-based AI cloud company DataCrunch is looking to develop a data center in Akaa, Finland.

The company is looking to purchase 10 hectares of land in the Akaa Point business district for around €600,000 ($698,200), reports Aamulehti.

During a September 2 meeting, the Akaa city council approved the transaction between the city and DataCrunch, allowing the urban development director to sign a preliminary agreement.

The plot is located next to Ystie and the Helsinki-Tampere motorway. The city would receive €208,000 ($242,000) in building permit fees and an annual property tax of around €550,000 ($640,000).

Once completed, the data center is expected to bring around 100 jobs to the area. Details about the data center, including size and expected IT capacity, have not been shared.

“The scale of the investment is significant and it strengthens our city’s tax revenue base, brings new jobs and creates new business opportunities in our area, for example thanks to waste heat,” said Akaas Mayor Antti Peltola.

Ruben Bryon, DataCrunch CEO, said: “Building a data center in Finland and Akaa is an important strategic step for the company. It supports the company’s and the European Union’s goals of self-sufficiency in artificial intelligence and sustainable energy use. DataCrunch would like to thank the city of Akaa for the good cooperation from the very beginning of the project.”

Earlier this year, Aamulehti reported that Fingrid – a utility provider in Finland – was temporarily pausing connection of large-scale plants to the grid due to capacity constraints. This has impacted another data center project by Fincap DC Corp, also at Akaa Point, and applies to projects needing 10MW or more. The power connection pause is set to last until 2027.

DataCrunch is an AI cloud company, founded in 2020 by Bryon. In October 2024, the company raised $13 million in seed funding. In November, the company announced it had deployed a cluster of H200 GPUs at its existing data center in Finland.

According to DataCrunch’s website, it operates three data centers in Helsinki, Finland, and one in Reykjanesbaer in Iceland. The facilities are powered by hydroelectric and wind power, and operate with a PUE of 1.2.

Akaa is in the Pirkanmaa region, in the southwest of Finland and northwest of Helsinki.

Most of Finland’s data centers are located in the country’s capital, Helsinki. Established operators, including the likes of Verne, Equinix, and atNorth, have a presence in Finland, while new operators such as Polarnode, FCDC, Arcem, and Hyperco are planning multiple developments across the country.