Strataphy, a deep-tech company pioneering next-generation cooling solutions for AI and industrial infrastructure, has raised $6 million in seed funding. The round was led by Outliers VC and Shorooq Partners, with participation from PlusVC (+VC).
The investment will accelerate Strataphy’s proprietary technology, expand its full-service stack, and grow its engineering and operations teams to support deployments across giga-projects, industrial facilities, and hyperscale data centers in MENA and beyond.
Cooling has become one of the biggest constraints on hyperscale expansion and industrial growth, particularly in hot-climate regions where it consumes nearly half of total electricity use. The Middle East represents one of the largest and fastest-growing cooling markets globally, valued at more than $120 billion annually, including $13 billion in Saudi Arabia alone.
Strataphy’s platform, powered by its PrimeLoop subsurface technology, introduces a fundamentally new approach by harnessing deep, stable thermal energy to cool infrastructure with significantly lower power requirements. This enables facilities such as data centers to reduce energy intensity, cut operating costs, and meet surging demand for efficient cooling.
Dr. Ammar Alali, co-founder and CEO of Strataphy, emphasized the urgency of innovation in this sector: “AI and industrial infrastructure are scaling faster than the systems that keep them cool. Cooling has quietly outpaced semiconductors and servers as the largest driver of hardware spending since 2022. Our mission is to build the backbone for next-generation cooling—scalable, reliable, and cost-efficient.”
Alali, who holds a PhD from MIT, co-founded Strataphy with Ahmed Alhani. The duo brings over 15 years of experience at Saudi Aramco and other ventures, specializing in subsurface exploration, geothermal systems, and energy optimization. Their expertise underpins PrimeLoop, designed specifically for high-temperature regions where conventional geothermal systems fall short.
Strataphy’s clients include NEOM, King Abdullah Economic City, Saudi Tabreed, Enersol, ADNOC Drilling, and Alpha Dhabi Holdings. Its Cooling-as-a-Service model shifts geothermal cooling from a capital expense to a predictable operating cost, enabling organizations to adopt advanced systems with minimal upfront investment. Demonstrations have shown electricity cost reductions of up to 49% compared to conventional cooling.
Outliers VC’s Mohammed Almeshekah described cooling as “one of the most overlooked opportunities in infrastructure transformation,” while Shorooq’s Shane Shin called it “the hidden backbone of the AI and industrial revolution.” Both investors underscored Strataphy’s role in reshaping energy, environment, and infrastructure for the next decade of innovation.
