Rune Secures $40M to Power Off-grid Data Centers With Renewables

WHO:

Fast Company - The startup involved is Rune, co-founded by William Layden (CEO) and Varun Palivela (CTO).

Fast Company - Spark Capital led the $40 million Series A funding round for Rune.

WHAT:

Techmeme - Rune raised $40 million in a Series A funding round.

Fast Company - Rune's data center in southwest Texas is not connected to the grid and does not require new power plants.

Fast Company - The data center in Texas consists of 50 modules with a total capacity of 1 megawatt.

Fast Company - Rune claims its model can be replicated at solar plants across the country.

Fast Company - The company states it is about 90% less expensive on a per-megawatt basis compared to traditional methods of delivering compute.

WHERE:

Fast Company - The new data center is located in southwest Texas.

Fast Company - The company plans to deploy computing power at solar power plants across the United States.

WHEN:

Fast Company - Over the next year, Rune plans to deploy 100 megawatts of computing power at solar power plants.

WHY:

Fast Company - Rune aims to utilize excess solar power that is typically wasted, as solar plants can waste up to 20% of the energy they generate.

Fast Company - The company believes that every solar facility in the United States has the potential to serve as a data center.

HOW:

Fast Company - Rune uses modular technology called RELIC (renewable energy linked intelligent compute) to connect directly to solar panels.

Fast Company - The modules are designed to be simple to install, taking only an hour to set up the data center in Texas.

Fast Company - The system operates on direct current electricity, eliminating the need for traditional transformers and simplifying the supply chain.

(UPDATED September 16, 2026 15:00 UTC)

Rune, a startup co-founded by William Layden and Varun Palivela, has successfully raised $40 million in a Series A funding round led by Spark Capital. The company has established a data center in southwest Texas that consists of 50 modules with a total capacity of 1 megawatt, designed to utilize excess solar power that is often wasted. Over the next year, Rune plans to deploy an additional 100 megawatts of computing power at solar power plants across the United States, leveraging its modular technology to connect directly to solar panels.