Piq Energy
Category: AI in Energy / Climate
Piq Energy is an AI-native agentic grid planning platform that automates complex power-system engineering studies to accelerate how renewable energy and data center projects connect to the electric grid. Piq Energy was founded in 2023. The company is led by Tom Nudell, PhD. Based in San Francisco, California, United States. Team size: 11-50. Total funding raised: $5M. Latest round: Seed. Key investors include Active Impact Investments, Cisco Foundation, Mobilize AI x Energy Ventures, New Climate Ventures, Ascent Energy Ventures, Umami Capital, CLAI Ventures, 9Zero, Convective Capital, Cerulean Ventures.
- Founded
- 2023
- Headquarters
- San Francisco, California, United States
- Team size
- 11-50
- Total funding
- $5M
Value proposition
Piq is the only AI agentic platform that sits on top of existing industry-trusted engineering tools to automate grid interconnection studies, enabling developers and utilities to run hundreds of scenarios in minutes instead of months, find hidden capacity, and connect projects to the grid significantly faster.
Products and solutions
Piq agentic grid planning platform: (1) Strategic Siting — find optimal points of interconnection using custom assumptions, (2) Project Optimization — right-size projects and identify cost-saving network upgrades, (3) Queue Management — real-time queue updates, RTO-specific cost allocation, withdrawal forecasts. Covers generation (solar, wind, BESS) and large loads (data centers). Manages 1,000+ transmission grid models, completed 10,000+ engineering workflows.
Unique value
Agentic grid planning platform that automates interconnection-grade power flow analysis — works WITH existing engineering software rather than replacing it, orchestrating multi-team workflows (load flow, stability, EMT, protection studies) into a single AI-driven platform.
Target customer
Renewable energy developers (solar, wind, battery storage), data center developers, utilities, and grid operators planning new grid connections
Industries served
Energy & Utilities (grid interconnection, transmission planning, renewable energy development, data center infrastructure)
Technology advantage
(1) Agentic AI layer that automates complex power-system engineering workflows (load flow, stability, EMT, protection studies); (2) Multi-variate analysis engine enabling on-demand scenario testing with different assumptions; (3) Platform approach rather than point solution — orchestrates across all study types; (4) Built by power-systems domain experts who understand utility engineering requirements deeply; (5) Cloud-native architecture not bound by geographic limitations.
How they differentiate
Piq does NOT try to replace legacy point-solution engineering tools. Instead sits on top of them as an AI orchestration layer, connecting models, data, and engineering workflows. Unlike narrow point solutions, Piq covers the full interconnection lifecycle — siting, optimization, queue management — in one platform. The founding team combines deep power-systems domain expertise with world-class software engineering (Palantir, C3 AI alumni).
Main competitors
GridCARE (seed, $13.5M raised, GenAI-powered grid connection platform for data centers), Neara (Series D, $180M+ raised, AI digital twin for utility network modeling), Emerald AI (AI grid planning platform)
Key partnerships
TotalEnergies On accelerator program (STATION F, Batch #7, 2026), Active Impact Investments (lead investor & portfolio company), Cisco Foundation (investor/partner), Infocast (industry conference participation), Joules Accelerator (participated in program)
Notable customers
Cassidy DeLine (CEO, quoted as customer — PJM & MISO Solar + Storage developer), works with renewable-energy developers and data-center developers, early customer traction includes managing 1,000+ transmission grid models and completing 10,000+ engineering workflows
Major milestones
2023: Company founded, 2024–2025: Development in stealth, 2025: Public launch of Piq platform, 2025: Selected for Joules Accelerator, 2026-07: Raised $5M oversubscribed Seed round led by Active Impact Investments, 2026: Selected for TotalEnergies On accelerator at STATION F, Managing 1,000+ transmission grid models and 10,000+ completed engineering workflows, "Found" nearly 1 GW of capacity that can be unlocked with flexible solutions and GETs
Growth metrics
1,000+ transmission grid models managed; 10,000+ engineering workflows completed; supporting customers running dozens of analyses daily; ~1 GW of hidden capacity identified
Market positioning
Early-stage but rapidly scaling entrant in the AI-for-grid-interconnection space. Competing against both legacy engineering consultancies and emerging AI-native startups. Differentiated by its platform approach (vs. point solutions) and deep domain expertise from its founding team's power-systems background. Selected for TotalEnergies On accelerator (STATION F, Batch #7, 2026).
Geographic focus
North America (primary: US markets including PJM, MISO, ERCOT, CAISO) with global ambitions
About Tom Nudell, PhD
Ex-Smart Wires (7 years running power-flow studies unlocking 2+ GW capacity); background in electrical engineering and power systems; PhD in related field
Latest news about Piq Energy
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Official website: https://www.piqenergy.com/
