What Exoscale does

Exoscale, operating through its legal entity Akenes SA, is a European Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) cloud provider founded in 2011 and headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland. The company offers a comprehensive cloud platform spanning compute instances (KVM-based virtual machines), managed Kubernetes (SKS), a DBaaS portfolio supporting eight database engines (PostgreSQL, MySQL, Redis, Valkey, Kafka, OpenSearch, Grafana, Thanos), S3-compatible object storage (SOS), block storage, GPU servers, and networking services (VPC, DNS, CDN, load balancers, security groups). Its Concrete AI product provides dedicated GPU infrastructure for AI inference workloads including LLMs and OCR. All services are delivered from European data centers and positioned around Swiss data sovereignty, GDPR, EU Data Act, and HIPAA compliance. Exoscale extends its platform through an Exoscale Marketplace hosting third-party SaaS solutions and a Works with Exoscale partner program covering technology partners, resellers, and referral channels.

The company serves a horizontal customer base ranging from startups to large enterprises across B2C SaaS, financial services, healthcare, and scientific research, with a stated emphasis on European customers requiring data residency outside US jurisdiction. Its revenue model is predominantly usage-based (compute, storage, networking billed by the second), supplemented by subscription-based marketplace managed services (Acronis Cyber Protect, APPUiO, Zephior) and enterprise agreements (HIPAA BAAs, PostgreSQL Enterprise). Distribution is primarily product-led via a self-service portal and APIs, with secondary motion through marketplace listings and channel partners.

Exoscale is privately held and operates as a member of A1 Digital, backed by A1 Telekom Austria Group, which provides strategic and financial backing. The company employs 51–100 staff and maintains an EU GDPR representative office in Vienna. Historically funded by Swisscom Ventures (2015, 2016) and operating under telecom-ownership economics, Exoscale has reached operational maturity with multi-year service track record, a 99.95% VM SLA, 15-minute incident response target, and active product expansion into AI infrastructure and Desktop-as-a-Service.

Name

Exoscale

Legal name

Akenes SA

Website

https://exoscale.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Exoscale is a Swiss-headquartered European IaaS cloud provider offering compute, managed Kubernetes, DBaaS, object storage, and AI inference services to developers, SaaS companies, and enterprises requiring GDPR-compliant, sovereign cloud infrastructure with data residency in Europe.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cloud Infrastructure

NAICS

Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (5182), Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (518210), Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370), Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373)

akta.pro primary industry

Managed Application Platforms (App PaaS & Runtime Services) (HDABAAAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Cloud-Native Enablement (Containers, Kubernetes, Service Mesh) (BPAEAKAE)

Keywords

• Cloud infrastructure services
• Managed kubernetes services
• Object storage solutions
• Cloud database services
• AI cloud infrastructure

Headquarters

HQ city

Lausanne

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Cloud Infrastructure Services (Compute, Storage, Networking): Usage-based billing where resources are billed by the second on exact consumption usage. Credit is updated on an hourly basis. Includes free output traffic tier of 1.42 GB per hour per machine.
2. Marketplace Managed Services: Partner-provided managed services (Acronis Cyber Protect, Zephior) with separate subscription pricing billed monthly based on storage used and workloads.
3. Powered by Exoscale Solutions: Third-party SaaS solutions running on Exoscale infrastructure, provisioned and billed by partners (VSHN, Elastisys, oneclick AG, Zephior).
4. Enterprise Services: HIPAA Business Associate Agreements (BAA) available for healthcare customers, PostgreSQL Enterprise, Redis Enterprise by Servala, and other enterprise-grade managed services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Exoscale is a European Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) cloud platform headquartered in Switzerland offering compute instances, managed Kubernetes (SKS), database-as-a-service, S3-compatible object storage, block storage, GPU servers, and AI inference infrastructure. The platform targets developers, SaaS companies, and enterprises with emphasis on European data sovereignty, GDPR compliance, and no vendor lock-in. A Marketplace offering third-party managed services (Acronis, oneclick, APPUiO, Zephior) extends the platform.

Product overview

Exoscale is a European cloud hosting platform providing a comprehensive Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) portfolio organized as an integrated platform with modular products. The core offering centers on Compute Instances (KVM-based virtual machines), Managed Kubernetes (SKS) for container orchestration, DBaaS supporting 8 database engines (PostgreSQL, MySQL, Redis, Valkey, Kafka, OpenSearch, Grafana, Thanos), Object Storage (S3-compatible SOS), Block Storage, and GPU Servers for AI/ML workloads. Supporting infrastructure includes Networking Services (VPC, IP, DNS, CDN, Security Groups, Private Connect), Backup Solutions with extensive third-party tool integration, and Concrete AI for dedicated inference. The platform extends through a Marketplace offering third-party SaaS applications (Acronis Cyber Protect, oneclick VDI, APPUiO, Zephior) and Partner Programs for technology partners, resellers, and professional services. All services are designed without vendor lock-in with data portability and EU Data Act compliance.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Concrete AI: Dedicated AI inference service offering GPU infrastructure for running LLMs and AI workloads on European cloud infrastructure.
• Simple Object Storage (SOS)
• SKS (Scalable Kubernetes Service)

Products and services

• Compute Instances KVM-based virtual machine instances providing scalable cloud compute resources with various instance types, SSH keypairs, anti-affinity groups, snapshots, and flexible storage management, targeted at developers, SaaS companies, and enterprises.
• Managed Kubernetes (SKS) Fully managed certified Kubernetes service (Scalable Kubernetes Service) for container orchestration with autoscaling, GPU node support, Karpenter integration, Gateway API, load balancers, certificate management, and OpenID Connect, targeted at DevOps teams and platform engineers.
• DBaaS (Managed Databases) Managed database-as-a-service supporting PostgreSQL, MySQL, Redis, Valkey, Kafka, OpenSearch, Grafana, and Thanos with automated backups, maintenance windows, read replicas, and scaling capabilities, for application teams needing managed database infrastructure.
• Object Storage (SOS) S3-compatible simple object storage service with bucket policies, ACLs, versioning, encryption, replication, lifecycle management, and data events, compatible with AWS CLI and extensive third-party backup tools, targeted at developers and enterprises needing scalable storage.
• Block Storage Persistent block storage volumes attachable to compute instances with snapshot capabilities and persistent volume support for Kubernetes workloads, targeted at application and infrastructure teams needing reliable block-level storage.
• GPU Servers GPU-accelerated compute instances for AI/ML workloads, deep learning, and high-performance computing, with GPU MIG partitioning support and LLM deployment capabilities, targeted at AI/ML engineers, data scientists, and research institutions.
• Concrete AI Dedicated AI inference infrastructure service for running AI models including LLMs, with support for text, image, and multimodal workloads, featuring dedicated GPU instances, trusted model providers, and OCR capabilities, targeted at AI application developers and enterprises deploying generative AI solutions.
• Virtual Private Cloud Isolated virtual network infrastructure for secure cloud deployments with private networking capabilities, targeted at enterprises needing network isolation and private connectivity.
• Networking Services Full suite of networking services including Elastic IP (IPv4/IPv6), Network Load Balancer, Security Groups, Private Networks, and Private Connect, targeted at infrastructure and platform teams building secure cloud architectures.
• Cloud DNS Managed DNS service for domain management with API-based configuration and record management, targeted at developers and IT teams managing cloud-hosted applications.
• CDN Content delivery network service with cache control and management capabilities, targeted at web and media application teams needing low-latency content delivery.
• Backup Solutions Comprehensive backup solutions including direct Object Storage backup and certified Works with Exoscale integrations (Veeam, Rubrik, K8up, Duplicati, Restic, Synology, QNAP, Archiware), targeted at enterprises requiring reliable data protection.
• Exoscale Marketplace Digital marketplace offering third-party SaaS solutions and managed services running on Exoscale infrastructure, provisioned and billed through the platform, including Acronis Cyber Protect, oneclick VDI, APPUiO Cloud, Zephior, and other certified partner solutions.

Quantifiable outcome

• 99.95% annual availability SLA for virtual machines (translates to max 4h20min downtime annually)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration36 records

AI capability6 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered strategic and core.

• oneclick AGstrategicTechnology or Integration · 4 November 2025Launched secure Windows 11 Desktop-as-a-Service (DaaS) solution on European cloud. Offers GDPR compliance, security features, cost efficiency, and sustainability. Addresses Windows 10 EOL challenges for European companies.
• VSHNstrategicTechnology or IntegrationProvides APPUiO Managed OpenShift, APPUiO Cloud (Kubernetes Namespace as a Service), Forgejo, GitLab Enterprise, Keycloak, Nextcloud, PostgreSQL Enterprise, and Redis services on Exoscale.
• Acronis International GmbHstrategicTechnology or IntegrationAcronis Cyber Protect is available on Exoscale Marketplace as a managed service. Provides backup, recovery, anti-malware, and security management with S3-compliant object storage in Austrian data centers.
• Terraform (HashiCorp)coreTechnology or IntegrationInfrastructure-as-Code tool with official integration support for Exoscale cloud automation.
• KubernetescoreTechnology or IntegrationContainer orchestration with certified Exoscale Managed Kubernetes (SKS) service.
• VeeamstrategicTechnology or IntegrationVeeam Ready certified for Object Storage (Capacity Target) and Kubernetes (Kasten). Enterprise-grade backup and recovery with ransomware protection.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Linode (Akamai): Developer-focused cloud (now part of Akamai) offering compute, Kubernetes, object storage, and DBaaS with a similar SMB/developer self-service value proposition. Comparable product breadth and PLG distribution.
• Scaleway: French cloud provider owned by Iliad, offering compute (bare-metal, instances, Kubernetes), object storage, and DBaaS with a European sovereignty narrative that directly overlaps Exoscale's positioning.
• OVHcloud: French public cloud provider offering a comparable European IaaS portfolio (compute, storage, Kubernetes, DBaaS) with strong data sovereignty positioning. Most direct and largest European competitor to Exoscale.
• DigitalOcean: US-based SMB cloud provider with similar product-led growth motion, simple pricing, and developer-focused compute/storage/Kubernetes offerings. Comparable go-to-market and customer profile despite differing geography.
• IONOS Cloud: German cloud provider (subsidiary of United Internet) offering compute, S3-compatible storage, managed Kubernetes, and DBaaS from European data centers. Comparable scale and SMB/SME customer base.
• Hetzner: German hosting and cloud provider operating data centers in Germany, Finland, and the US. Closely comparable on developer-focused IaaS, competitive pricing, and European operational footprint.

Broad incumbents

• AWS (Amazon Web Services): Global hyperscaler providing compute, Kubernetes (EKS), DBaaS (RDS/Aurora), S3 storage, and AI/ML services. The primary incumbent Exoscale positions against on data sovereignty and lock-in grounds.
• Google Cloud Platform: Hyperscaler offering GKE, Cloud SQL, Cloud Storage, and Vertex AI. Competes for AI/ML and Kubernetes workloads where Exoscale's SKS and Concrete AI overlap.
• Microsoft Azure: Global hyperscaler with Azure Kubernetes Service, Azure SQL/Database, Blob Storage, and Azure OpenAI. Competes for the same enterprise workloads, with EU data boundary initiatives as partial counter to Exoscale's sovereignty positioning.

Emerging players

• STACKIT: Schwarz Group's (German retail conglomerate) sovereign cloud platform offering IaaS, Kubernetes, and managed services with strong European data residency messaging; competes in regulated European verticals similar to Exoscale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/exoscale
• GitHubgithub.com/exoscale
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/exoscale
• Facebookfacebook.com/exoscale

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Exoscale