Observed Signal · Sep 3, 2026 · Funding · Source: Trending Topics (DACH/CEE Innovation & Tech) · Impact: 1/5 · Sentiment: Positive
Serwas Technologies raises €300k pre-seed for server heat reuse
Serwas Technologies, a startup from Innsbruck, Austria, has closed the first tranche of its pre-seed funding round, raising nearly €300,000. The round is led by Gateway Ventures, with participation from business angels of the Pioneers Club and MCI Innsbruck. The company installs servers directly in buildings with high heat demand, such as swimming pools, hotels, and residential complexes. Its proprietary direct-to-liquid cooling technology captures waste heat from the servers and feeds it into the building's heating and hot water systems. The first installation is operational at an indoor pool in Innsbruck, in cooperation with Innsbrucker Kommunalbetriebe. The founders are Manuel Untergasser, Timo Berkmann, and Lucas Bolte. A second closing is planned for October to support further expansion. The startup is shifting from initial Bitcoin mining workloads toward AI workloads as its medium-term focus.
Minor pre-seed funding news for a niche startup in server heat reuse; not directly impacting AdTech industry, but slightly relevant via AI infrastructure.
Track Gateway Ventures Signals & Market Shifts in Real-Time
Polaris7 autonomous intelligence agents track regulatory filings, primary sources, executive changes, and deal flow 24/7. Create your Polaris7 workspace to monitor these entities.
Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- Serwas Technologies raised approximately €300,000 in its first pre-seed closing.
- Gateway Ventures is the lead investor in the round.
- The first installation is at the Freizeitzentrum Amras indoor pool in Innsbruck.
- The startup uses direct-to-liquid cooling to reuse server waste heat for building heating.
- A second closing is planned for October 2026.
Connected Companies & Entities
3 Entities mapped“Led by Gateway Ventures as the lead investor.”
“An Interxion data center is scheduled to heat a Vienna clinic.”
“Swiss provider Infomaniak is heating residential apartments using waste heat from its data center.”
Ontology Mapping & Concepts
Related Market Signals & Shifts
Recent verified developments and strategic activity across this market segment.
Atoco Startup Turns Data Center Waste Heat into Drinking Water
California-based startup Atoco has developed a system that extracts drinking water from the air using waste heat from data centers. In a September demonstration in Irvine, the company used 65°C heat to simulate server exhaust and produced water from its machine. The technology relies on metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), developed by Nobel laureate Omar Yaghi, which can capture water vapor even at low humidity. The demo unit delivers up to 300 liters per day using the waste heat of a 20 kW data center. A commercial unit with 1,000 liters per day capacity is in development, with first orders expected by year-end. Atoco has held five prototype tests with partners in the US and Gulf states and is in talks with tech giants. Costs are currently around $5 per ton of water, higher than desalination, but expected to drop in 3-5 years.
Reebuild Raises €3M for AI Construction Back Office
Vienna-based construction technology startup reebuild has raised €3 million in a seed funding round led by Fortino Ventures, with participation from Rise PropTech, CuriosityVC, and existing investor Hansmann Family Office. The company uses AI to automate back-office processes for construction and real estate firms, targeting companies with 10 to 2,500 employees. Founded in 2022 by Alexander Kornell, Matteo Cimadom, and Luca Papay, the platform automates invoice processing, cost management, and material tracking, reducing invoice processing time from over 20 minutes to about 3 minutes and approval cycles from five days to 1.5 days. Currently serving over 120 companies, including Pittel+Brausewetter and 3SI Immogroup, it has processed over 345,000 documents and €530 million in invoices. CEO Alexander Kornell emphasized the company's neutrality by never taking construction companies into the cap table. Funding will be used for team expansion, developing AI agents for an 'agentic back office', and expanding into additional European markets beyond Austria and Germany.
Venture Kick invests CHF 150K in Apolarion's plasma seed treatment
Swiss cleantech startup Apolarion, a spin-off from EPFL, has received CHF 150,000 (€164,000) from Venture Kick to advance its chemical-free seed treatment technology. The company, founded by Jesus Poley and Luke Simons, is developing a modular device that uses cold atmospheric plasma to eliminate harmful microorganisms from seeds without chemical treatments. This method uses only air and electricity to generate reactive particles that neutralize pathogens while preserving seed germination. The funding will support first field trials and initial customer deployments, covering operational facilities, equipment, and personnel. Apolarion initially targets Swiss and European markets, offering sustainable alternatives to conventional chemical and heat-based treatments for seed treatment companies.
Receive all future signals for Gateway Ventures & competitors in your briefing
Never miss material M&A deals, leadership changes, account wins, or product rollouts. Polaris7 monitors 20,000+ primary sources 24/7, delivering verified telemetry directly into your executive briefing.
