Strataphy, a deep-tech company focused on cooling AI and industrial infrastructure, has raised $6 million in seed funding. The round was led by Outliers VC, with participation from Shorooq and PlusVC (+VC).
The company will use this funding to advance its technology, expand its full-service offerings, and grow its engineering and operations teams. This will help support new projects across gigaprojects, industrial facilities, and hyperscale data centres in the MENA region and beyond.
Cooling has become one of the biggest challenges for hyperscale expansion and industrial growth. In hot regions, cooling already uses nearly 50% of total electricity across different sectors.
The problem is especially severe in the Middle East, which has one of the world’s largest and fastest-growing cooling markets. The market is worth over $120 billion annually, including $13 billion in Saudi Arabia alone.
Strataphy’s platform uses its proprietary PrimeLoop™ subsurface technology to offer a completely new approach. It leverages deep, stable thermal energy to cool infrastructure with much lower power usage.
This technology allows industrial and commercial facilities, including data centres, to reduce energy consumption, lower operating costs, and meet rising cooling demand efficiently.
Speaking on the fundraise announcement, Dr. Ammar Alali, co-founder and CEO of Strataphy, said, “AI and industrial infrastructure are scaling faster than the systems that keep them cool and efficient. In AI hardware, cooling has quietly outpaced semiconductors, servers, and even data centres as the largest driver of net-new hardware spending since 2022. Our mission is to build the backbone for next-generation cooling that is scalable, reliable, and cost-efficient. This investment will accelerate our technology, expand our team, and enable us to meet the surging demand across the region and beyond.”
Dr. Ammar Alali, who holds a PhD in Earth Sciences and Energy Systems from MIT, co-founded Strataphy with Ahmed Alhani. The two have collaborated for over 15 years at Saudi Aramco and other ventures, leading projects in subsurface exploration, geothermal systems, and energy optimization.
Their combined experience laid the foundation for PrimeLoop, Strataphy’s proprietary subsurface cooling technology. It is specifically designed for high-temperature regions with heavy cooling needs and engineered to overcome the limitations of conventional geothermal systems, which were originally built for heating in colder climates.
Mohammed Almeshekah, Founder and General Partner at Outliers VC shared, “Cooling remains one of the most overlooked opportunities in the region’s broader infrastructure transformation. As demand accelerates and AI adds further pressure, efficient and scalable cooling is becoming essential for sustained growth. Strataphy’s subsurface-powered approach delivers a step change in reliability and energy use. We are backing the team because they are rethinking the infrastructure that will shape the region’s next decade of progress.”
Shane Shin, Founding Partner at Shorooq, concluded, “Cooling infrastructure is the hidden backbone of the AI and industrial revolution. What Strataphy is building isn’t just a better system; it’s a fundamental rethinking of how energy, environment, and infrastructure intersect in hot-climate economies. Their ability to turn subsurface cooling into a scalable service unlocks an entirely new layer of sustainability and performance for the region. We’re backing Strataphy because they’re not just solving for heat; they’re enabling the infrastructure that will power the next decade of innovation.”
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