Key Takeaway
Romania is enhancing its digital infrastructure, with EvoBits IT leading the charge by managing over 900 AI servers. Founded in 2014 as a software development firm, EvoBits transitioned to the data center business during the 2017 cryptocurrency boom and fully shifted focus to data centers by 2021. The company assembles many of its AI servers in-house to remain competitive, generating €7 million in turnover with a small client base. EvoBits maintains strong partnerships with suppliers like Innova Engineering and Supermicro, emphasizing a family-like company culture despite past challenges. The firm is expanding its facilities to meet growing AI demands.
Romania is dedicated to enhancing its digital infrastructure and connectivity, leveraging its power availability and skilled technical workforce to create significant growth opportunities.
EvoBits IT is seizing this momentum, currently managing over 900 AI servers to satisfy the increasing demand for AI.
The organization has undergone a remarkable transformation since its inception and now aims to provide the vital infrastructure that businesses need to thrive in the digital transformation era.
“We initially started as a programming company, concentrating exclusively on software development for the first few years. Then we transitioned into the data centre sector, beginning with hosting during the cryptocurrency boom in 2017-2018,” states Silviu Balaci, founder and IT consultant at EvoBits IT.
“Between 2020 and 2021, we fully shifted to the data centre business. Starting in 2020, we ceased all external software development services. We no longer engage in software development except in very rare instances when clients specifically request it.”
From crypto to AI: A strategic evolution
EvoBits’ journey into the data centre market has been characterized by strategic shifts in its business focus. Founded in 2014 as a software development company, EvoBits IT began its engagement with data centres during the cryptocurrency mining surge of 2017.
In 2021, Silviu sold his shares in EvoBits IT but continued with the company as a consultant in a role akin to Chief Technology Officer, overseeing business direction and technical strategy. This restructuring ultimately positioned the company for its next growth phase in the AI infrastructure market.
This intentional strategic shift coincided with rising demand from AI startups for managed infrastructure services. Increased data centre power is necessary to meet the business demand for emerging technologies like AI and cloud computing, leading to significant market expansion—especially in Europe.
The company’s hardware deployment strategy now diverges from standard industry practices. While it acquires pre-built servers for high-end needs, EvoBits IT assembles many AI servers in-house and incorporates desktop-level central processing units (CPUs) for improved single-core performance throughout the data centre. To address the primary drawbacks of using desktop-level CPUs, this assembly includes custom power distribution boards and PCIe switches, which manage power delivery and data transfer between components.
“To compete with larger companies, we had to adopt a different approach,” Silviu explains. “For high-end servers that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, we still purchase those, but for smaller AI servers, we assemble them ourselves.”
This infrastructure supports a focused client base, as EvoBits IT currently serves fewer than 10 clients. Nevertheless, it has achieved a turnover of €7 million (US$7.29m) over the past year.
By maintaining a clear focus on data centre infrastructure, the company is looking to expand its facilities, which include a new two-megawatt (2MW) Tier III certified data centre and an eighteen-megawatt (18MW) modular liquid-cooled data centre.
Keeping your partners close
To support its ongoing growth in the European data centre market, EvoBits IT fosters a robust network of partnerships with three primary suppliers, including Innova Engineering, which aids in the design and construction of EvoBits IT data centres while addressing the unique challenges of AI infrastructure.
“We have collaborated since 2017,” Silviu explains. “They’re adaptable and open to exploring different approaches, even though they primarily build traditional data centres that don’t face the same challenges we do. They regard us as knowledgeable partners, which is not always easy to find.”
Similarly, long-term partner and IT giant Supermicro supplies EvoBits with server hardware through a relationship strengthened by joint project presentations, while IT distributor ASBIS manages component distribution across Eastern and Central Europe.
These close partnerships are integral to the core ethos of EvoBits IT.
“As a company, we’ve encountered significant challenges, including a near-bankruptcy experience, but we’ve surmounted every obstacle and continued to grow,” Silviu shares. “What distinguishes us is our philosophy of operating more like a family than a company, even with our customers.”
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