Nvidia, John Kerry And Google's Jeff Dean Back Startup Promising The Ultimate Virtual Power Plant To Cut Grid Stress

Emerald AI, a new startup funded by Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) and other famous names, announced July 1 that it has developed software that turns energy-intensive data centers into flexible tools for managing electricity demand.

The company says it raised $24.5 million in seed funding, led by Radical Ventures with participation from Nvidia through NVentures, CRV, Neotribe, and AMPLO. Notable backers include former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, Kleiner Perkins Chair John Doerr, former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, Google Chief Scientist Jeff Dean and AI expert Fei-Fei Li.

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Emerald AI has assembled a world-class team led by Dr. Varun Sivaram, a former Fortune 500 C-suite energy executive, senior U.S. diplomat, Rhodes scholar, and physicist. According to Nvidia, the Washington, D.C.-based startup is building AI software designed to help the next wave of data centers launch faster by using existing energy infrastructure more strategically and with greater flexibility.

Test With Oracle and Nvidia Cut Energy Load By 25% in Three Hours

In a recent pilot project conducted in Phoenix, Emerald AI tested its software with Nvidia, Oracle (NYSE:ORCL), the Electric Power Research Institute and utility provider Salt River Project. During a three-hour grid stress event, the software cut AI-related electricity use by 25% without compromising system performance, according to the company.

Emerald AI says that its platform can delay or redirect power-hungry AI tasks such as model training or inference queries during peak demand, including rerouting them to less overloaded regions. This flexibility allows data centers to bypass grid interconnection queues that can stretch seven to 10 years, which typically delay hyperscale deployment.

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“AI is driving unprecedented demand for energy. Without a solution to flexibly service that demand, innovation slows,” Doerr said in the statement. “Emerald AI’s technology can unlock up to 100 gigawatts of untapped grid capacity by harnessing the infrastructure we already have. Emerald AI’s transformational software turns AI data centers from grid stressors to grid supporters.”

New Model Could Lower Electricity Bills and Help Grids Use More Solar, Wind

Beyond helping AI factories come online using existing power systems, Nvidia says that Emerald AI’s ability to modulate power usage could help cities avoid rolling blackouts, shield communities from rising utility rates, and make it easier for the grid to integrate clean energy.

Ayse Coskun, Emerald AI's chief scientist and a Boston University professor, said that the technology may also help utilities better integrate renewables, according to Nvidia. "Renewable energy, which is intermittent and variable, is easier to add to a grid if that grid has lots of shock absorbers that can shift with changes in power supply," Coskun said. "Data centers can become some of those shock absorbers."

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AI's Growing Energy Demands Signal Urgent Need for Scalable Solutions

Emerald AI warns that without new approaches, the rapid expansion of AI infrastructure could overwhelm the existing U.S. power grid. According to Emerald AI, new data centers could demand up to 100 gigawatts of additional power by 2030, but widespread grid constraints and long connection wait times risk slowing down AI growth and undercutting the U.S. tech sector.

The North American Electric Reliability Corporation has cautioned that such demand could jeopardize grid stability, Emerald AI says. Large-scale investments in new power infrastructure could also lead to higher energy costs for American consumers unless demand is managed more intelligently.

"We’re at a critical inflection point as exponential growth of AI computing pressures our electrical infrastructure," Sivaram said in the statement. "To unshackle AI technology progress from power constraints, Emerald AI transforms data centers from grid liabilities into flexible assets."

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