EcoCloud

What EcoCloud does

EcoCloud is an academic research center hosted by EPFL (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne) in Lausanne, Switzerland. It conducts research, educational programs, and industrial collaboration focused on sustainable cloud infrastructure, with explicit emphasis on data center hardware innovation, energy-efficient chip design, cooling and thermal management, cloud data management strategies, and security techniques for cloud platforms. The center organizes its work around three flagship research projects (SwissChips for energy-efficient chip design, UrbanTwin for sustainable urban digital twins, and Heating Bits for waste heat utilization), a purpose-built Experimental Data Center Facility for real-world validation, and four collaborative research projects (CHIMP, SEAMS, X-HEEP, Midgard).

The center operates an Industrial Affiliates Program that anchors recurring collaboration with global technology firms across chips, servers, cloud, and power management, notably Intel, HPE, Huawei, Oracle, and Eaton, along with smaller affiliates (Gemateg, IMOVentures) and visiting academic collaborators (Prof. Sharon Hu of Notre Dame, Prof. Luca Carloni of Columbia). EcoCloud does not sell commercial products or services; pricing is not applicable. Its funding model relies on EPFL institutional support, research grants, and industry affiliate contributions, and no revenue, ARR, or fee schedule is publicly disclosed. Recognition includes an ACM Award for a doctoral thesis associated with the center's research.

Name

EcoCloud

Legal name

EcoCloud

Website

https://ecocloud.ch

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

EcoCloud is an EPFL academic research center in Lausanne, Switzerland, that conducts collaborative research on sustainable data center hardware, energy-efficient chip design, cloud data management, and cloud security, funded through an Industrial Affiliates Program with partners such as Intel, HPE, Huawei, Oracle, and Eaton.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sustainable IT Infrastructure Research

NAICS

Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151), Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (51821)

SIC

Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373), Electronic Computers (3571)

akta.pro primary industry

Energy Management & Sustainability (PUE, Carbon, Water) (HDABANAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Cloud Compliance, Audit & Continuous Controls Monitoring (CCM/GRC) (HDABAHAI), Hybrid Cloud Migration, Modernization & Integration (HDABAMAH)

Keywords

• Sustainable data centers
• Cloud infrastructure research
• Energy efficient computing
• Data center cooling
• Chip design research

Headquarters

HQ city

Lausanne

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

EcoCloud is an academic research center at EPFL conducting research on sustainable data center hardware technologies, cloud data management strategies, and innovative security techniques for cloud infrastructure. It operates an Experimental Data Center Facility and runs flagship and collaborative research projects, engaging enterprise technology companies through its Industrial Affiliates Program to address sustainability, energy efficiency, and cooling challenges in cloud and IT infrastructure.

Product overview

EcoCloud is an academic research center at EPFL, not a product company. It operates as a portfolio of research projects and infrastructure rather than a commercial product suite. The center comprises an Experimental Data Center Facility for testing sustainable technologies, three flagship projects (SwissChips for chip design, UrbanTwin for urban digital twins, and Heating Bits for waste heat utilization), and four collaborative research projects (CHIMP, SEAMS, X-HEEP, and Midgard). These initiatives collectively address sustainable IT infrastructure, data center cooling, energy management, and secure cloud platforms through research, education, and industrial collaboration.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SwissChips: Flagship research project focused on sustainable chip design and technology.
• UrbanTwin
• Heating Bits

Products and services

• Experimental Data Center Facility A purpose-built experimental facility for testing and validating sustainable data center technologies, cooling systems, and energy management solutions in real-world conditions. Available to industry affiliates and research collaborators.
• SwissChips Research Project Flagship research project focused on developing energy-efficient chip designs and hardware innovations for sustainable computing. Available through the Industrial Affiliates Program for collaborative research with industry partners.
• UrbanTwin Research Project Flagship research project for urban sustainability modeling and simulation of city-scale environmental and energy systems through digital twin technology. Available through the Industrial Affiliates Program.
• Heating Bits Research Project Flagship research project exploring the intersection of computing and heating systems, utilizing waste heat from data centers for practical applications. Available through the Industrial Affiliates Program.
• X-HEEP Open-Source Hardware Platform Open-source hardware platform project for energy-efficient processor design and chip development. Available as a collaborative research deliverable through the Industrial Affiliates Program.
• Industrial Affiliates Program Subscription-based membership program for enterprise technology companies providing access to EcoCloud's research monitoring, graduate student recruiting, annual event participation, and direct engagement with EPFL faculty and researchers on sustainable cloud infrastructure topics.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Prof. Sharon Hu (University of Notre Dame)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 June 2026Academic collaborator who visited EcoCloud to discuss NVM-based in-memory computing research. Expert in non-volatile memory technologies.
• Prof. Luca Carloni (Columbia University)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 April 2026Academic collaborator who visited EcoCloud to discuss using open-source hardware platforms for chip design research.
• EatoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEaton, a power management company, collaborates with EcoCloud on data center energy and cooling research. Eaton's VP of Data Center Energy and Cooling visited EcoCloud to discuss power management solutions.
• HPE (Hewlett Packard Enterprise)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHPE is an industry affiliate partner supporting EcoCloud's research on sustainable IT infrastructure and data center technologies.
• HuaweicoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHuawei participates as an industry affiliate, contributing to collaborative research on sustainable data center and cloud infrastructure technologies.
• IntelcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIntel is an industry affiliate partner collaborating on hardware technology research, chip design, and sustainable computing platforms.
• OraclecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOracle participates in EcoCloud's Industrial Affiliates Program, contributing to research on cloud data management and sustainable infrastructure.
• GemategminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGemateg is listed as an industry affiliate partner supporting EcoCloud's research initiatives.
• IMOVenturesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIMOVentures is an industry affiliate partner contributing to EcoCloud's collaborative research on sustainable cloud infrastructure.

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• ETH Zurich Computer Science Department: Swiss Federal Institute of Technology's CS department is a peer academic institution in Switzerland with strong systems and sustainable computing research. Directly comparable as a neighboring Swiss academic research entity working on computing systems.
• MIT CSAIL: MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory is a leading academic computing research center with industry affiliate programs. Comparable as a top-tier academic CS research lab with corporate sponsorship and experimental infrastructure.
• Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory: U.S. Department of Energy national laboratory with major research programs on data center energy efficiency and sustainable computing. Directly comparable to EcoCloud as an academic/government research entity producing sustainability research for industry partners.
• Stanford Computer Science: Stanford's CS department runs industry-funded research programs including work on sustainable computing and data center efficiency. Comparable as a top academic CS research center with industry collaboration models.
• Carnegie Mellon School of Computer Science: CMU's School of Computer Science is a peer academic computing research institution with industry-affiliate programs and experimental systems infrastructure. Comparable in mission and structure.
• Open Compute Project Foundation: Industry consortium driving open-source hardware for data centers, including energy-efficient designs — closely aligned with EcoCloud's X-HEEP open-source chip platform work. Comparable as a community ecosystem for sustainable data center hardware.

Broad incumbents

• Microsoft Research: Microsoft's industry research arm operates sustainability and data center efficiency research at vastly larger scale. Comparable in research focus area but as a broad incumbent rather than a niche academic center.
• Google Research: Google's research division runs substantial sustainability, chip design, and data center efficiency programs. Comparable in topical coverage but as a hyperscaler with internal R&D capabilities far exceeding any academic center.

Regional players

• INRIA: French national research institute for digital sciences with industry partnership programs across Europe. Comparable as a European publicly-funded academic research organization working on computing systems with industry collaborators.
• RISE Research Institutes of Sweden: Swedish state-owned research institute with sustainability, ICT, and energy programs that partner with industry. Comparable as a European applied research organization funded through institutional and industry support rather than commercial products.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7451908959214612482
• Instagraminstagram.com/epfl_ecocloud

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about EcoCloud