German Edge Data Center Company nLighten Launched by I squared Capital

I Squared Capital's latest portfolio company, nLighten, is introducing an Edge network in Germany. This week, the company disclosed plans for a formal debut in Germany across 10 sites later this year. Exa Infrastructure, another I Squared Capital venture, sold its initial data centers to nLighten, which aims to start up in the second half of 2023. The objective of nLighten is to establish and run several Edge data center facilities across Europe. Berlin, Düsseldorf, Leipzig, Frankfurt, Hannover, Cologne, Nuremberg, Hamburg, Munich, and Stuttgart will all have capacity on the network. 

Eschborn-based I Squared has supposedly decided to commit upwards of $500 million in equity to support the firm's expansion plans throughout Europe via its ISQ Global Infrastructure Fund III. nLighten was officially founded in 2021, but this is the firm's first public announcement. In order to help reduce emissions through grid stabilization and the absorption and export of heat to the community, nLighten said that its infrastructure architecture "collaborates with the utility industry." CEO Beusker formerly worked at Equinix for more than 20 years, serving from 2002 as MD for Germany. Around 1999, he served as InterXion's COO. Prior to its acquisition, Telecity and Equinix both employed McCarthey.