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Emerald AI

Category: AI Infrastructure

An AI-powered orchestration platform that enables data centers to flexibly adjust power consumption in real-time, transforming energy-intensive AI infrastructure into intelligent grid assets that support grid stability while maintaining AI compute performance. Emerald AI was founded in 2024. The company is led by Dr. Varun Sivaram. Based in Washington, D.C., USA. Team size: 20-30. Total funding raised: $67.5M. Latest round: Strategic expansion round ($25.0M, Mar 2026). Key investors include ["Energy Impact Partners (lead investor - Mar 2026)","Radical Ventures (lead investor - Jul 2025)","NVentures (NVIDIA)","Salesforce Ventures","Samsung Ventures","Siemens","Eaton","GE Vernova","IQT (In-Q-Tel)","Lowercarbon Capital","AMPLO","CRV","Neotribe"].

Founded
2024
Headquarters
Washington, D.C., USA
Team size
20-30
Total funding
$67.5M

Value proposition

Transforms AI data centers from grid liabilities into flexible grid assets by orchestrating compute workloads and onsite energy resources in real-time, enabling faster grid connections, reducing energy costs, and supporting grid reliability without compromising AI performance.

Products and solutions

["Emerald Conductor Platform (core orchestration engine)","GridLink (grid-data center interface)","Digital Twin Simulator for AI power modeling","Autonomous Agent for real-time workload management","Power-Flexible AI Factory Reference Design (with NVIDIA)","Performance Verification & M&V Reporting System"]

Unique value

Pioneer in AI-driven data center flexibility management, creating the first commercial platform that treats AI factories as software-defined, measurable, and dispatchable grid assets rather than static power loads. Features closed-loop orchestration with autonomous agents and digital twin simulation that can dynamically slow processes, shift workloads between locations, and adjust chip clock frequencies based on grid signals.

Target customer

AI data center operators, cloud and hyperscale providers, utility companies and grid operators, and energy infrastructure developers seeking to accelerate grid interconnection

Industries served

["AI Infrastructure & Data Centers","Energy & Utilities (Grid Operations)","Cloud Computing & Hyperscale Computing","Clean Energy & Climate Technology","Energy Storage & Microgrids"]

Technology advantage

Combines real-time grid-data center connectivity, AI workload orchestration, and energy resource management in a unified platform that integrates with NVIDIA's AI factory stack (including Blackwell GPUs, NIM microservices, and Mission Control). Proven ability to reduce data center power consumption by 25% for 3+ hours during grid stress events while maintaining production-grade AI workload performance—demonstrated across five live commercial deployments and peer-reviewed in top scientific journals.

How they differentiate

Software-first orchestration platform specifically designed for AI workloads, with deep NVIDIA integration (Blackwell GPUs, DSX Flex) and proven 25% power reduction during grid stress events. Unlike competitors who focus on infrastructure buildout or general demand response, Emerald AI provides real-time closed-loop orchestration with autonomous agents and digital twin simulation specifically optimized for AI/ML compute flexibility.

Main competitors

["Verrus (Alphabet spinoff)","Schneider Electric","GridBeyond"]

Key partnerships

["NVIDIA (strategic technology partner - featured by Jensen Huang, integrated AI factory stack, Blackwell GPU deployments)","National Grid UK (first UK live trial partner)","Digital Realty (Aurora AI Factory host in Manassas, VA)","EPRI (Electric Power Research Institute - demonstration validation partner)","Major energy companies: NextEra Energy, AES, Constellation, Vistra, Invenergy","InfraPartners (flex-ready data center development)","Siemens Smart Infrastructure & Fluence (integrated power ecosystem)","Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (technical collaboration)","Strategic investors: NVentures (NVIDIA), Salesforce Ventures, Radical Ventures, Lowercarbon Capital, GE Vernova, Eaton, Samsung Ventures, IQT (In-Q-Tel)"]

Notable customers

["Digital Realty (Aurora AI Factory host)","National Grid UK","Nebius (UK AI Factory partner)","Major energy partners: AES, Constellation, Invenergy, NextEra Energy, Nscale Energy & Power, Vistra"]

Major milestones

["July 2025: $24.5M seed funding led by Radical Ventures with NVentures participation","October 2025: $18M seed extension, total funding reaches $42.5M","October 2025: Announced world's first power-flexible AI Factory with NVIDIA, EPRI, Digital Realty, and PJM","February 2026: UK-first live demonstration with National Grid and Nebius in London","March 2026: CERAWeek announcement with six major energy companies (AES, Constellation, Invenergy, NextEra, Nscale, Vistra)","March 2026: $25M strategic expansion round led by Energy Impact Partners","Integration with NVIDIA DSX Flex platform to unlock up to 100 GW of grid capacity"]

Growth metrics

Completed five live commercial demonstrations across US and UK achieving 25% power reduction for 3+ hours during grid stress events; deployed production-grade AI workloads on NVIDIA Blackwell Ultra GPUs; peer-reviewed results published in top scientific journals

Market positioning

Early mover and category creator in AI-specific data center grid flexibility, positioned as the intelligent interface between power grids and AI factories. Distinguished by exclusive NVIDIA partnership and peer-reviewed scientific validation from commercial deployments.

Geographic focus

Primarily North America (Arizona, Illinois, Virginia, Oregon) and United Kingdom (London), with strategic energy company partnerships across US and UK markets

Patents and IP

No registered patents publicly disclosed as of April 2026; company appears to be operating in stealth mode regarding specific IP filings. Arizona demonstration results peer-reviewed and accepted in top scientific journals, establishing prior art in flexible AI computing.

About Dr. Varun Sivaram

Former Fortune 500 C-suite energy executive (Group Senior Vice President at Ørsted), Managing Director for Clean Energy and Innovation for U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry at the U.S. Department of State, Chief Technology Officer of ReNew Power (India's largest renewable energy company), Senior Fellow for Energy and Climate at the Council on Foreign Relations, Rhodes Scholar, physicist with PhD from Oxford University, and author of three books on energy and climate.

Official website: