Strataphy, a Saudi Arabia–based deeptech startup developing geothermal cooling solutions, has raised $6 million in seed funding, led by Outliers VC with participation from Shorooq Partners and PlusVC.
Founded in 2025 by Dr. Ammar Alali and Ahmed Alhani, Strataphy builds and operates proprietary geothermal systems designed to reduce energy use and cooling costs for data centres, gigaprojects and high-temperature industrial facilities. The company will use the new capital to expand its engineering and operations teams and scale deployments across Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
Cooling has become one of the most significant constraints on hyperscale data expansion and industrial infrastructure in hot-climate regions, accounting for nearly half of total electricity consumption. The Middle East represents a cooling market estimated at more than $120 billion annually, including $13 billion in Saudi Arabia alone.
Strataphy’s platform, powered by its PrimeLoop™ technology, leverages deep subsurface thermal conditions to cool infrastructure using significantly less energy than traditional systems. The company reports electricity cost reductions of up to 49 percent in commercial environments.
“AI and industrial infrastructure are scaling faster than the systems that keep them cool,” said co-founder and CEO Dr. Ammar Alali, who holds a PhD from MIT and previously led subsurface and geothermal projects with co-founder Alhani during more than 15 years together at Saudi Aramco. “Cooling has now outpaced semiconductors, servers and even data centres as a major hardware cost driver. This investment allows us to expand deployment and meet accelerated demand.”
Strataphy works with clients and partners including NEOM, King Abdullah Economic City, Saudi Tabreed, Enersol, ADNOC Drilling and Alpha Dhabi Holdings. Its Cooling-as-a-Service model enables customers to reduce upfront costs by converting geothermal cooling into an operational expense.
Outliers VC founder and general partner Mohammed Almeshekah said cooling represents an overlooked opportunity in regional infrastructure, while Shorooq founding partner Shane Shin described Strataphy’s model as a fundamental rethinking of how energy and environment intersect in hot-climate economies.
Strataphy is now preparing to scale commercial rollouts as demand increases across AI, industrial and gigaproject sectors in the region.
