May 30, 2025 | Posted by Abdul-Rahman Oladimeji
GridCARE, an AI startup focusing on expediting the route to market for data centers seeking a grid connection announced that it has closed an oversubscribed $13.5 million funding round. This round was led by Xora, with participation from Aina Climate AI Ventures, Sherpalo Ventures, Breakthrough Energy, Overture, WovenEarth, Acclimate Ventures, Clearvision, and Clocktower Ventures.
The company, born out of the Stanford Sustainability Accelerator program, will work with data center operators and grid operators to hasten the time-to-power for their facilities. It aims to leverage advanced generative AI-based analysis to detect pockets with geographic and temporal capacity on the existing grid. By doing so, the company claims, it can reduce the time-to-power of data centers to 6-12 months.
"Power is the new kingmaker in the AI arms race," said Amit Narayan, CEO and founder of GridCARE. "Companies that secure reliable energy fastest will dominate the next generation of AI. By serving as the bridge between AI infrastructure developers and utility companies, GridCARE gives our partners the critical speed advantage they need to win this race while strengthening energy resilience."
“The rise of AI presents the biggest new electricity demand surge we’ve seen in decades,” said Larry Bekkedahl, SVP of advanced energy delivery at Portland General Electric. “Collaborating with GridCARE and using advanced planning tools enables Portland General Electric to make more informed and faster decisions in bringing this critical infrastructure online with confidence.”
