Data Centre Infra Management Startup CIMware Bags $2.3 Mn

Data centre infrastructure management (DCIM) startup CIMware has raised $2.3 Mn (about INR 20 Cr) in a Pre-Series A funding round from Transition VC.

The Bengaluru-based startup plans to deploy the fresh proceeds in ramping up its hardware production, expanding software team and covering operating expenses.

The deeptech startup had received grants from the department of telecommunications (DoT) in 2022 and 2023 to the tune of INR 1.5 Cr (about $175K) which was infused to develop 20 composable infrastructure module (CIM) units for pilot stage integration with Indian data centres.

Founded in 2018 by Rajiv Ganth, CIMware is developing CIM units which gives data centres an IT framework for computing, storage and networking resources to be pooled in and managed via software control plane.

The startup claims that its CIM units help to reduce energy consumption by 80% and also helps to trim capital expenditure by 66%, leading to a sustainable solution in AI computing and storage for video streaming and social media.

Prior to launching CIMware, Ganth was the head and managing director at CloudSimple India which was acquired by Google in 2019.

CloudSimple India’s software solution helped enterprises to manage cloud computing workloads. Besides, Ganth carries more than 20 years of experience and expertise in data center architecture working with brands like Intel, Digital Equipment Corporation, and EMC among others.

CIMware plans to generate revenue through direct sales in India and the US. While it plans white-labeled deployment in South Asia, expansion in other markets will happen through affiliated partnerships. CIMware aims to focus on delivering services and solutions to AI-centric data centers, telecom networks, and enterprise cloud stacks.

According to research, the global data centre infrastructure market will breach the $500 Bn mark by 2032 and CIMware plans to capture 25%of the global market share and post $175 Mn in revenues by FY27.

But the road to success may not be that easy for CIMware especially when one is competing with heavyweights like Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Cisco Systems, Dell Technologies, Huawei, and Lenovo in the CIM units space.

There is a huge upsurge in the demand for data centres in India. The major push in India comes from the Centre as it is spearheading its dream to build India’s domestic large language model through the India AI mission which has an outlay of more than INR 10,000 Cr.

Currently, SarvamAI, Soket AI and Gnani.ai have been shortlisted under the scheme to build India’s domestic LLM.

The push in AI will increase the demand for data centres for computing, storage and networking for training LLMs. Besides, large players have also raised capital to get an edge over their peers in the AI landscape.

For instance, AI startup Think Machine Labs raised $2 Bn in its seed round while Elon Musk-led xAI also raised $10 Bn in debt and equity to push its AI ambition. Meta is also in talk to raise $29 Bn in credit to give a push to its AI efforts.

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