PoliCloud, the distributed cloud platform powering next-gen smart city applications, has secured $8,794,146 in seed funding to build decentralized infrastructure for urban intelligence. The round was led by Global Ventures, MI8, OneRagtime, Inria, and a consortium of private investors.

Founded by David Gurle, PoliCloud is creating a new category of infrastructure: one where edge computing, AI, and data sovereignty converge to support municipalities, utilities, and enterprises in building faster, more secure, and privacy-first city solutions.

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Decentralized Cloud, Designed for the Edge

Unlike centralized hyperscalers that rely on massive data centers, PoliCloud deploys a distributed mesh of edge nodes that bring computing closer to where data is generated. That means lower latency, greater control, and vastly improved energy efficiency - without sacrificing scale or resilience.

The platform is designed with municipal infrastructure in mind, enabling real-time traffic analytics, utility optimization, environmental monitoring, and secure public sector applications. It also aligns tightly with the data protection standards that matter to cities and governments - such as GDPR, local cloud mandates, and EU digital sovereignty frameworks.

This alignment with real-world complexity is what gives PoliCloud its edge. Most startups in infrastructure try to minimize friction; PoliCloud made friction part of the design surface. By embedding compliance and locality into its architecture, it becomes not just a technical win - but a political and procurement win too.

This is where most founders miss the real leverage. In highly regulated markets - like public infrastructure or civic tech - trust isn’t a branding layer, it’s a structural layer. Speed, performance, and AI integrations are table stakes. But what gets you deployed at scale isn’t raw capability - it’s whether your system can withstand audit, procurement, and public scrutiny.

And that’s the ultra value drop: if you’re building in systems where buyers are institutions, not consumers, your product architecture must speak the language of risk reduction. PoliCloud’s moat isn’t just its distributed compute - it’s that it was built to pass RFPs, satisfy procurement officers, and answer to city CIOs. When founders treat trust as a product feature - not just a reputation - they build startups that sell into systems that never churn.

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 Led by a Founder Who’s Built Trust Infrastructure Before

David Gurle previously founded Symphony, the secure messaging platform trusted by global financial institutions. He also held senior leadership roles at Skype, Microsoft, and Thomson Reuters, where he developed deep expertise in privacy-centric platforms and global-scale infrastructure.

PoliCloud is the culmination of that experience - bringing the same level of cryptographic trust, decentralization, and system integrity to a domain that now urgently needs it: cities.

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Who’s Backing PoliCloud

The $8.79M seed round was backed by:

• Global Ventures – frontier fund investing in tech across EMEA
  
• MI8 – focusing on infrastructure, AI, and future cities
  
• OneRagtime – pan-European early-stage venture firm
  
• Inria – France’s national research institute for digital science
  
• A network of civic tech-focused angels and institutional partners
  

The capital will support PoliCloud’s expansion across Europe, hiring in engineering and policy strategy, and deployment of edge clusters in partnership with local governments and smart grid providers.

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Why This Market Is Heating Up

According to IDC, more than 50% of new enterprise infrastructure will be deployed at the edge by 2025, and Statista projects the smart city tech market to grow to $241 billion by 2027. That’s being driven not just by digital transformation, but by regulatory shifts, energy optimization mandates, and the decentralization of AI workloads.

Cities are no longer asking “if” they’ll digitize services - they’re now choosing how, through whom, and under what governance frameworks. That opens the door for infrastructure players who can offer not just compute, but clarity: data residency, control, and resilience.

PoliCloud’s ability to localize compute while maintaining a unified developer layer positions it to serve both public sector entities and energy providers, telcos, and logistics firms seeking to move critical functions to the edge.

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Led by a Veteran Founder

Founder David Gurle is a recognized leader in privacy-first infrastructure. As founder and former CEO of Symphony, he built the secure collaboration platform now used by top-tier banks and institutions. He’s also held leadership roles at Skype, Thomson Reuters, and Microsoft, and brings deep experience in scaling infrastructure where trust is non-negotiable.

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What’s Next for PoliCloud

Following the seed round, PoliCloud will:

• Deploy edge node clusters across urban regions in France, Germany, and the Middle East
  
• Release SDKs and APIs for civic developers and infrastructure providers
  
• Expand into verticals like smart utilities, urban mobility, public health, and emergency services
  
• Partner with local governments on EU-funded digital initiatives, including NextGenerationEU and Green Deal-aligned infrastructure
  
• Explore distributed incentive models for communities to host and manage local edge nodes

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