Acurast raises €11M for smartphone-powered compute network
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Founded 2022 · Zug, Switzerland
The distributed computing landscape is witnessing a paradigm shift as smartphones emerge as untapped computational powerhouses. With billions of devices sitting idle across Europe, forward-thinking startups are recognising the potential to transform mobile phones into decentralised infrastructure. Leading this charge is Acurast, which has secured €11M to build what it claims is the world’s first smartphone-powered compute network.
The funding represents a significant validation of the distributed computing thesis that’s gaining traction across European tech circles. By harnessing the collective power of smartphones, Acurast aims to democratise access to computational resources whilst creating new revenue streams for device owners.
Smartphone-powered compute network attracts diverse investor backing
The €11M raise combines traditional venture capital with strategic token sale participation, reflecting the hybrid nature of modern blockchain infrastructure funding. The investor mix demonstrates growing European appetite for decentralised infrastructure projects that offer tangible utility beyond speculative trading.
Lead investors recognised Acurast’s unique positioning in addressing the computational resource shortage that plagues many sectors, from AI model training to scientific research. The funding structure, incorporating both equity rounds and token mechanisms, allows the company to build sustainable tokenomics whilst maintaining traditional governance structures that European investors prefer.
“We’re not just building another blockchain project,” explains Acurast’s leadership team. “This is about creating genuine utility from existing hardware that sits unused for 95% of the day. Every smartphone becomes part of a global supercomputer.”
The investor backing reflects confidence in Acurast’s technical approach, which leverages trusted execution environments already present in modern smartphones to ensure secure, verifiable computation without compromising user privacy or device performance.
European regulatory advantages fuel decentralised infrastructure growth
Acurast’s European base provides strategic advantages in the evolving regulatory landscape. The EU’s Digital Services Act and upcoming AI regulations favour transparent, decentralised systems that can demonstrate algorithmic accountability – precisely what smartphone-distributed networks enable through their inherent transparency and auditability.
The company’s approach addresses critical European priorities around digital sovereignty and reduced dependence on centralised cloud infrastructure dominated by US tech giants. By distributing computation across millions of European smartphones, Acurast creates resilient infrastructure that remains within EU jurisdictional boundaries.
Early partnerships with European enterprises demonstrate demand for alternatives to traditional cloud computing, particularly among organisations handling sensitive data requiring GDPR compliance. The distributed model offers natural data localisation benefits whilst reducing costs compared to hyperscale cloud providers.
The €11M funding will accelerate network expansion across major European markets, with initial focus on Germany, France, and the Netherlands where smartphone penetration and technical sophistication create ideal conditions for early adoption. Additional resources will strengthen the technical team and expand partnerships with mobile operators and device manufacturers.
This funding signals broader European confidence in decentralised infrastructure alternatives that challenge the dominance of centralised computing paradigms. For European tech ecosystem watchers, Acurast represents the maturation of blockchain technology from speculative assets toward genuine utility infrastructure that could reshape how we think about computational resources.
