Europe needs more digital sovereignty: why 3NV was founded, and why in Estonia

European companies still rely heavily on American cloud giants, whether that's AWS, Google Cloud or Microsoft Azure. As the geopolitical landscape shifts, the need for local, affordable computing power is growing. That is the problem 3NV, founded in Estonia, set out to solve: it offers what is known as bare metal, high-performance infrastructure.

At Greenergy Data Centers, something new and necessary was built: fast, cost-efficient and green computing capacity, ready to meet today's and tomorrow's digital challenges.

3NV co-founders Markkus Millend and Artem Verevskyi explain why they decided to set up the company in Estonia.

The problem 3NV solves

"Europe, and Estonia in particular, hasn't had enough high-quality, high-performance computing capacity," explains Artem Verevskyi. "3NV grew out of that need: to offer a quality, local and cost-efficient alternative to solutions built on the big cloud providers."

3NV initially focuses on blockchain clients, since that field needs especially high computing power and reliable connectivity. At the same time, the company is aiming for a wider market: companies that process large volumes of data, or whose services sit within Europe and for whom paying high cloud service bills isn't sustainable.

"If you're a European company using cloud services and paying eye-watering sums, try our service. Chances are you'll save at least three times as much," Artem encourages. "You also get better performance, because the whole server is yours: it isn't shared with other clients."

To support this direction, 3NV has added cloud functionality to its platform. This lets companies use reliable infrastructure without depending on foreign cloud giants. The biggest advantages are predictable pricing, stable performance, and the assurance that critical data and services stay within Estonia and the European Union.

Why Greenergy Data Centers?

The partnership with Greenergy Data Centers, located just outside Tallinn, began out of practical need: a Tier III data center capable of providing the required infrastructure. But other considerations also factored into the choice.

"Greenergy has excellent connectivity: Arelion, Cogent and many others are present in the building. In blockchain, global connectivity is essential, and you can't compromise on that," Markkus Millend stresses.

Markkus also points to the data center's use of green energy: "If you want to be environmentally conscious, green energy is the cherry on top. It matters to us, especially given the blockchain industry's overall shift toward carbon neutrality."

Martin Rungi, Greenergy's enterprise segment lead, confirms that sustainability is no longer just an added benefit, it is becoming the standard. "If you don't operate in an environmentally responsible way, a lot of partnership opportunities and client relationships simply fall away. It's what clients expect today."

Estonia as a strategic choice

Although Markkus is from Estonia, founding the company here was not just about personal ties. Estonia was chosen as the first location mainly for practical reasons: suitable infrastructure, good connectivity and a smooth business environment. It was also seen as a chance to contribute to decentralising blockchain networks.

"It matters that the network is distributed and doesn't concentrate only in the big centres. In Europe, most blockchain infrastructure sits in Frankfurt, London or Amsterdam. Our goal was to put Estonia on that map too. Building something here felt like the logical step," Markkus explains.

As an added bonus, Artem points to Estonia's startup-friendly environment: "Compared with other European countries, there's less bureaucracy here and everything moves fast. That let us get started within a few months."

A mutually beneficial partnership

Greenergy Data Centers sees 3NV as a chance to diversify the market and broaden its expertise. "We didn't previously have a provider in Estonia offering bare metal solutions. This helps us serve clients who have no physical presence in Estonia too, since 3NV can represent them," says Martin Rungi.

The partnership has offered learning and development opportunities for both sides. "We did quite a lot for 3NV, from planning the hardware installation to the cabling work and the initial setup that made the machines available on the platform. The result turned out so well that if we held a beauty contest for equipment racks, 3NV would probably win," Martin jokes.

Bigger ambitions

3NV's vision for the future is clear: grow in Estonia with Greenergy's support, and expand into other European countries in the near future.

"Europe is moving strongly toward preferring solutions built within Europe, not just for cloud storage but for AI and general computing as well," says Artem, who believes this trend will become clearer over the next couple of years. "Our goal is to be ready to meet that demand by offering an alternative to the big American cloud giants: fast, reliable infrastructure based on European soil."

Markkus adds: "If you can serve blockchain clients, you can serve everyone else too. Their requirements for hardware and connectivity are simply that high."