As part of this expansion, Gridraven’s CEO, Georg Rute, is preparing to relocate to Austin, Texas, to spearhead the company’s US operations in one of the world’s most dynamic energy markets.
”The US and especially Texas are seeing significant load growth from electrification and data centres. More grid capacity is needed on day-ahead energy markets to power this growth. Our software solution boosts grid capacity with zero additional hardware, helping utilities service this load growth. We’re setting up in Austin, Texas, to be close to our customers,” comments Georg Rute.
To fuel its international expansion, Gridraven has raised €4 million in funding from leading European venture capital firms, including 42CAP (Germany) and Icebreaker.vc (Finland). The funding will be directed toward scaling operations, growing the team, and accelerating the rollout of innovative solutions designed to address the evolving challenges of the global energy sector.
Alex Meyer, 42CAP: “We are very impressed with Gridraven’s team and technology. Their core innovation of applying AI and machine learning to increase the resolution of weather forecasts is the missing link for unlocking more capacity from the existing grids. We see enormous potential for the solution across the world and believe the team is right for bringing it to market.”
Aleksi Partanen, Icebreaker.vc adds: “Having supported the founding team from the idea stage since late 2023, we have witnessed their ability to build world-class technology. We will continue to support Gridraven throughout their progress.”
Gridraven’s system optimizes transmission lines by leveraging machine learning-based weather models, allowing grids to carry more power during favorable conditions. Their technology can unlock more capacity for grid operators today without the need for any new hardware. The solution can be viewed on claw.gridraven.com.
Overview of Results
Gridraven has locked in its first successful results with Estonian energy provider Elering. The results are based on tests conducted on a 110 kV line, where forecasts were validated against eight measurement points up to 48 hours ahead. The trials occurred in a forested area where current wind forecasts had previously failed to provide reliable results.
Gridraven's solution demonstrated significant success:
- Average Forecast Accuracy: 60% better than existing forecasts.
- Reliability: The 95% confidence interval was maintained 95.1% of the time.
- Capacity Increase: From September to November 2024, Gridraven's forecasted line capacity was a third higher than the capacity achieved with the previously used approach while ensuring that confidence intervals for constantly changing variables were met.
About Gridraven
Founded to address critical bottlenecks in power grids, Gridraven is a fast-growing tech company focused on delivering intelligent AI solutions that maximize grid capacity. With its newly established presence in the US, and a strong team of experts driving energy innovation, Gridraven is poised to lead the energy industry into a more efficient future.
About 42CAP
42CAP are seasoned entrepreneurs turned investors. With Hybris and eCircle, they previously built two of Europe's largest B2B software companies, culminating in $1.6b cash exits to SAP and Teradata, respectively. The 42CAP credo Peers amongst Entrepreneurs is reflected in their investment approach, with which they support data- and technology-driven business models, product-focused founders and sustainable venture development. Read more: www.42cap.com
About Icebreaker.vc
Icebreaker.vc backs the most ambitious tech founders at the earliest stage, with a track record of backing over 100 teams on their journey from Idea to Seed and beyond since 2017. Icebreaker.vc invests up to 1.5M€ first tickets to teams from Estonia, Finland and Sweden. Read more: www.icebreaker.vc.
