Runware aims to mass-produce AI data centers in a factory like cars

AI infrastructure company Runware wants to build modular data centers on a production line, much like cars, it told TechCrunch. A few months ago the company unveiled the Sonic Inference Pod, a data center built in a factory and shipped to customers ready to install. It now plans to scale production sharply.

Flaviu Fadulescu, Runware's co-founder and CEO, said the company intends to reach 30 megawatts of data center capacity produced per day at its Romania-based factory by 2028, nearly 1 gigawatt a month. At that pace, a year's output would roughly match what the entire U.S. was expected to add in data center power this year, about 10 gigawatts.

Production plans

Runware has two factories: one that has built the pods for a few years, and a second that began construction earlier this year. The second is due to be finished within months and go online early next year. Output is to rise gradually starting next year.

What customers get

Customers can supply their own site, or Runware can find one. The company aims to have pods running within 48 hours, a figure covering installation and set-up rather than build time. A pod once took three weeks to build; the company says that will fall to one day as production ramps up. Customers can rent compute from Runware, or bring their own GPUs and pay a monthly fee for the pods and operations. Power and internet are billed separately.

Risks and funding

For now these are plans, and execution is the test. The factory will need staff, inventory, supply chain logistics and money. The electric vehicle startup Arrival, once valued at more than $13 billion, is cited as a cautionary tale after it struggled to mass-produce vehicles cost-effectively. Runware has raised more than $60 million in total and is finishing the factory with the $50 million Series A it raised last December. It plans a Series B. Some parts, such as pumps and fans, come from Germany, and the company still relies on Nvidia for networking.

Runware says it has received $1 billion in committed interest since offering the pods to outside customers a month ago, representing over 20 megawatts. Fadulescu said the pods need only power and an internet connection, using closed-loop liquid cooling with air-cooled radiators, so no water connection is required.