Emerald AI raises $150M Series A at $1.05B valuation to make AI data centers grid-flexible

On August 25, Emerald AI announced the close of a $150M oversubscribed Series A financing at a $1.05B valuation. Energize Capital and DCVC co-led the round, with NVIDIA, Samsung Ventures, Siemens, Aramco Ventures, Salesforce Ventures, GE Vernova, RWE, JERA Ventures, ADVentures, Sabanci Climate Ventures, In-Q-Tel, Radical Ventures, and other investors participating.

Emerald AI, founded in 2024 by Varun Sivaram, develops the Conductor software platform that allows AI data centers to dynamically reduce or shift power consumption when the grid is under stress while maintaining performance of critical computing workloads. The company estimates that applying this approach across AI infrastructure could unlock more than 100 GW of capacity on the existing US grid.

Emerald AI has completed five commercial demonstrations in Arizona, Illinois, Virginia, Oregon, and London, in partnership with NVIDIA, EPRI, Oracle, Nebius, and National Grid. The company has now moved into commercial deployment, deploying across an entire data center in California. Its partnership with Silicon Valley Power launched what it calls the first-in-the-nation Flexible Load Interconnection Program, granting data centers expanded grid access in exchange for verified, dispatchable flexibility.

In Manassas, Virginia, Emerald AI is working with Digital Realty and NVIDIA on a nearly 100-megawatt Vera Rubin AI Research Factory expected to come online later this year. Total funding now exceeds $220M, less than a year after exiting stealth.