Italian startup Alpen Blockchain secures €105 million from Azimut

Trento, Italy’s Alps Blockchain, a company specializing in providing computing power for digital mining, announced on Monday, July 29, that it has received a €105 million investment from Azimut.

This investment was made through Azimut Direct Investment Alps. Blockchain II SCSp, a Luxembourg-based specialized investment vehicle that invests in bonds secured by Alps. Blockchain with a 5-year maturity and early redemption option.

The company plans to use the funds for its growth and international expansion. It will focus on strengthening its existing operations and looking into entering new markets to expand its global footprint.

Financing is carried out using Alpen Blockchain. The positive development is also reflected in the financial results.

The company's revenue increased from €697,000 in 2020 to €17.3 million in 2022.

In 2023, the company's sales reached EUR 43.6 million, an increase of around 140 percent compared to the previous year. The positive EBITDA confirms the company's strong development potential.

“The increase in our funding will allow us to contribute even more to the blockchain ecosystem, encouraging the development of robust and sustainable projects over time,” adds Francesca Vaillone, CFO of Alps Blockchain. “Thanks to this financial transaction, we will not only be able to expand our existing sites and make them more efficient, but also invest in the construction of new facilities with the aim of quadrupling the production capacity of computing power serving this technology by the first quarter of 2025.”

Alpen Blockchain: Computing Power for Digital Mining

Founded in 2018 and led by Francesco Bova, Alps mountain range It is a technology company specializing in providing computing power for digital mining.

Over the past three years, the company says it has increased the number of mining machines installed at its planned sites around the world fivefold from 2,500 to more than 15,000.

This will enable the company to achieve a total power capacity of 2 megawatts and a computing power of over 2024 EH/s (exahashes per second) by June 2024.

Through the development and operation of modern mining farms, the potential of blockchain and mining aims to align with the needs of the energy sector to create shared value and promote mutual development.

From Italy, the company has already established offices in countries such as Paraguay and Ecuador, where fully-fledged mining farms use hydroelectric power.

Alpen Blockchain actively supports the energy sector by not only focusing on hydropower, but also exploring new sources and projects to advance the energy transition.

Currently, the company has expanded its reach from Europe to South America and the Middle East, focusing on projects that create scalable growth and new opportunities through computing power generation.

“At Alps Blockchain, we are committed to designing projects that promote the synergy between new technologies and the world of energy, thus generating positive impacts in both sectors. This new investment is an exceptional confirmation of our confidence in our work and a fundamental support for the near future. On the occasion of the company’s sixth anniversary on July 20, we are excited to begin a new chapter in the company’s history, dedicated to pursuing ambitious growth goals,” says Francesco Bova, CEO of Alps Blockchain.

Investor

Azimut is an independent group in the areas of asset management, asset management, investment banking and fintech.

The group includes several companies active in the field of promotion, management and distribution of financial and insurance products, especially in Italy, Australia, Brazil, Chile, China (Hong Kong and Shanghai), Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Ireland, Luxembourg, Mexico, Monaco, Portugal, Singapore, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey and the United States of America.

Giorgio Medda, CEO and Global Head of Asset Management and Fintech at Azimut Group, commented: “We are very pleased to strengthen our relationship with Alps Blockchain, which aims to make mining more sustainable and provide our clients with the opportunity to participate in the growth of pure Italian excellence that is rapidly establishing itself around the world. This new deal is part of Azimut’s broader commitment to advance the global and sustainable energy transition through innovative investment solutions in private markets. A commitment that includes investments of over €350 million since 2022. Our vision is that asset management can play an increasingly crucial role in combining efficient capital allocation with building a more sustainable future.