# Emerald AI raises $150 million to make data centers flex with the grid

> The Washington, D.C. company said Energize Capital and DCVC led an oversubscribed Series A at a $1.05 billion valuation, and posted the round on X.

- Publication: Go Big News
- By Go Big News Staff (Staff News)
- Category: AI
- Published: 2026-08-28T10:12:16.25+00:00
- Canonical: https://www.gobignews.com/ai/emerald-ai-raises-150-million-to-make-data-centers-flex-with-the-grid

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[Emerald AI](https://www.emeraldai.co), a Washington, D.C. company that writes software so data centers can change how much power they draw when the grid is stressed, said on August 25 that it had raised $150 million in an oversubscribed Series A at a $1.05 billion valuation. Energize Capital and DCVC co-led. The company posted the same figures on X.

Emerald said 12 Fortune Global 500 companies are now investors and sit on its strategic advisory board. Named participants include Nvidia, Samsung Ventures, Siemens, GE Vernova, RWE, Aramco Ventures, Salesforce Ventures, JERA Ventures, In-Q-Tel, Radical Ventures, Energy Impact Partners, Lowercarbon Capital, Emerson Collective, Earthshot Ventures, John Doerr, Tom Steyer, and General Catalyst's scout fund. SiliconANGLE reported that investors have now put more than $220 million into the company.

The product, Emerald Conductor, schedules AI workloads and onsite energy so a site can cut power for the utility without dropping critical jobs, the company said. Over the past year it completed five demonstrations at commercial sites in Arizona, Illinois, Virginia, Oregon, and London, with partners including Nvidia, EPRI, Oracle, Nebius, and National Grid.

Emerald said a commercial deployment in California then flexed an entire data center during peak strain. With Silicon Valley Power it launched a Flexible Load Interconnection Program that offers expanded grid access in exchange for verified, dispatchable flexibility. In Manassas, Virginia, it is working with Digital Realty and Nvidia on the Aurora Vera Rubin factory, which Emerald describes as nearly 100 megawatts and has also listed at 96 megawatts. The company says that site is due later this year, with testing involving EPRI, Dominion, and PJM.

Founder and CEO Dr. Varun Sivaram said Emerald was built on the idea that AI could ease its own power bottleneck. Emerald's announcement cited International Energy Agency projections that data centers will account for nearly half of U.S. electricity demand growth through 2030. The company estimates that flexible operation could unlock more than 100 gigawatts on the existing U.S. grid. That figure is Emerald's projection, not an independent count of capacity already freed.

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## Companies in this story

- Emeraldai: https://www.gobignews.com/company/emeraldaico