The GPU shortage of 2023 and 2024 exposed a structural vulnerability in the global AI ecosystem: the world doesn't have enough GPU compute capacity, and what exists is concentrated in the hands of a few hyperscale providers. For European companies trying to build, train, and deploy AI models, this concentration creates dependency, cost pressure, and sovereignty risk.
At AI Green Bytes, we're building the alternative: distributed, immersion-cooled GPU infrastructure across five European countries, offered as a service to enterprises, research institutions, and AI startups that need sovereign, sustainable compute.
The Supply-Demand Imbalance
Global demand for AI compute is growing at roughly 10x per year. NVIDIA shipped approximately 3.8 million data center GPUs in 2024, and even that unprecedented volume couldn't satisfy demand. Wait times for H100 allocations stretched to months. Prices on the secondary market reached multiples of list price.
The hyperscalers — AWS, Azure, Google Cloud — absorbed the lion's share of available supply. Their scale gives them priority allocation from NVIDIA and the capital to pre-purchase entire production runs. For mid-sized European companies, this means either paying premium prices for on-demand cloud GPU instances or waiting months for dedicated capacity.
This is not a temporary supply chain hiccup. The structural demand for GPU compute will continue to outpace supply growth for the foreseeable future. Building independent GPU infrastructure isn't just a business opportunity — it's a strategic necessity for European AI sovereignty.
Why Edge, Why Now
The conventional wisdom says GPU compute should be centralized in massive hyperscale facilities to maximize utilization. There's logic to this argument, but it ignores several realities that are becoming increasingly important.
First, latency. AI inference workloads — which now represent the majority of GPU compute demand — are increasingly latency-sensitive. Autonomous systems, real-time recommendation engines, and interactive AI applications need responses in milliseconds, not the hundreds of milliseconds that a round trip to a distant hyperscale facility requires.
Second, data gravity. European enterprises are generating data across the continent. Moving that data to a centralized facility for processing and then moving the results back is expensive, slow, and raises sovereignty questions. Processing data close to where it's generated is more efficient and more compliant.
Third, resilience. A distributed network of edge GPU facilities is inherently more resilient than a centralized model. If one facility goes offline, workloads can be redistributed across the network. There's no single point of failure that can take down your entire AI infrastructure.
Our edge data centers in Iceland, Norway, Sweden, France, and Portugal are positioned to serve European enterprise customers with low-latency, sovereign GPU compute. Each facility is sized for the local market while being interconnected for overflow and redundancy.
The Full Stack Approach
Building a GPU-as-a-Service business isn't just about buying GPUs and racking them up. It requires a vertically integrated approach that optimizes every layer of the stack.
At the infrastructure layer, we own our facilities and use Midas immersion cooling tanks with Oleon dielectric fluid. This gives us control over the thermal environment and the density advantages I've written about previously.
At the hardware layer, we work with Hypertec for our server platforms. Their systems are designed for immersion cooling compatibility, which means optimized thermal interfaces and components rated for fluid submersion. This isn't off-the-shelf hardware dropped into a tank — it's purpose-built for the environment.
At the orchestration layer, Cloudification provides the cloud management platform that lets customers provision, manage, and scale their GPU allocations through a familiar cloud-native interface. Bare metal performance with cloud convenience — that's the value proposition.
This vertical integration means we control the entire experience from power inlet to API endpoint. When a customer reports a performance issue, we can diagnose it across the full stack without finger-pointing between vendors.
Sustainability as Competitive Advantage
Every conversation I have with European enterprise customers about GPU compute eventually turns to sustainability. It's not a nice-to-have anymore — it's a procurement requirement. Large European companies have Scope 3 emissions targets that include their cloud and compute suppliers. They need to demonstrate that their AI infrastructure is powered by renewable energy and operated efficiently.
This is where our model shines. Iceland's 100% renewable grid. Norway and Sweden's hydroelectric abundance. Immersion cooling that reduces cooling energy by up to 95%. Heat recovery that turns waste into community value. When we hand a customer their sustainability report for GPU compute consumed on our infrastructure, the numbers speak for themselves.
Contrast this with the hyperscalers, who despite their renewable energy commitments, still operate significant capacity on grids with substantial fossil fuel components. Their aggregate PUE numbers include facilities in regions where natural gas powers the cooling systems. Our facilities are renewably powered from day one, by geography and by design.
The European Opportunity
Europe's AI ambitions require European AI infrastructure. The EU has committed to tripling data center capacity, and the AI Act creates a regulatory environment that favors transparent, sovereign, and sustainable compute providers.
The companies that build this infrastructure — that invest in the facilities, the cooling technology, the hardware partnerships, and the cloud platforms — will be the backbone of Europe's AI economy. At AI Green Bytes, we're building one piece of that backbone: edge-deployed, immersion-cooled, renewably powered GPU infrastructure that European companies can trust.
The GPU business is booming. The question is whether Europe will own its share of that business, or rent it from someone else.
