By Rajwa Quasim
Emerald AI, a startup developing software to manage the growing power demands of artificial intelligence data centers, has raised $150 million in a Series A funding round, valuing the company at $1.05 billion. The round was co-led by Energize Capital and DCVC, with participation from a broad group of global financial and strategic investors. The company’s total funding now exceeds $220 million.
The company was founded in 2024 by Indian American Dr. Varun Sivaram who is the current CEO. Emerald’s technology enables AI data centers to dynamically adjust their electricity consumption based on grid conditions, rather than operating as fixed loads that draw roughly the same amount of power regardless of grid conditions. This could free up more than 100 GW of power for AI while keeping electricity reliable and affordable for local communities.
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“We founded Emerald AI on the conviction that the intelligence driving the AI revolution could solve its own greatest bottleneck: power. Our demonstrations around the world proved that data centers can adjust their power use precisely when the grid needs relief, without compromising critical computing workloads. Today that technology runs commercially at full data center scale, and this financing lets us take it everywhere AI is built, so the AI era can accelerate while the grid becomes more reliable and more affordable for the communities it serves,” Sivaram said.
Energize Capital is an investment firm focused on digital technologies for the energy transition, while DCVC is a deep-tech venture capital firm that invests in companies developing advanced science and engineering technologies for industrial-scale commercial businesses.
John Tough, managing partner at Energize Capital, said, “The binding constraint on AI is no longer chips or capital; it is power, and software is the fastest way through it. Emerald AI has converted world-class research into commercial deployments faster than any company we have seen in this category, and we are proud to co-lead this round as the team defines how AI infrastructure and the grid grow together.”
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Emerald AI tested its technology for around 18 months at five data centers worldwide. It is now expanding commercially and is being used at full data centers of multi-megawatt scale by major AI companies, data center platforms and power utilities.
The investment comes amid rising electricity demand from data centers due to rapid AI expansion. According to analysts at Morgan Stanley, global electricity demand will rise by more than 1 trillion kWh annually through 2030, with data centers accounting for nearly 20% of that growth.
Emerald AI is working with companies including Nvidia, Digital Realty, Nebius and EPRI to launch the world’s first power-flexible AI data center in Manassas, Virginia. The project is expected to launch later this year. The company is also partnering with Silicon Valley Power on the country’s first Flexible Load Interconnection Program (FLIP) to provide additional electricity capacity to flexible AI data centers.
The company now has 12 Fortune Global 500 companies among its investors, with their representatives serving on its Strategic Advisory Board.