Ex-Tesla Leader Baglino Raises $140M for Next-Gen Grid

By Bloomberg Technology

Categories: Startup, VC, AI

Summary

Ex-Tesla leader raises $140M for a startup building the next-gen grid technology that could power Elon Musk's 100GW solar goal and revolutionize data centers with 4x efficiency gains.

Key Takeaways

  1. Heron is leveraging 4 decades of power semiconductor innovation to modernize the electricity grid, which is still relying on century-old mechanical devices.
  2. Heron's new grid tech can simplify and accelerate data center buildouts by reducing 70% of the required on-site equipment and improving grid-to-chip efficiency by 4x.
  3. Heron is targeting a massive addressable market, including Elon Musk's 100GW solar goal, as its tech can be applied to solar, batteries, and any application requiring DC-to-medium voltage AC conversion.
  4. Heron is leveraging the expertise and resources of investor Andreessen Horowitz's American Dynamism Fund, which is focused on building new technology and manufacturing in the United States.
  5. Heron plans to deploy its first revenue units this year and reach mass production by late 2027, showcasing its ability to rapidly commercialize its next-gen grid technology.
  6. The founder's experience scaling new technologies from scratch to millions of units at Tesla gives them confidence that Elon Musk's ambitious 100GW solar goal is achievable.

Topics

Transcript Excerpt

We have been tracking her in since its earlier days. This is, you know, a quick series b maybe in succession to to the fundraising you did already. But importantly, you bring Andrew's name through the American Dynamism Fund, a new investor. Let let's start with that. Why why why go there? First of all, thanks, Ed, for having me again on the program. I'm super proud to represent, Heron on this major milestone today. Yeah. Well, we're we're focused on building new technology and manufacturing in T...