– ThinkLabs AI, Inc. launches, secures $5M in seed funding co-led by Powerhouse Ventures and Active Impact Investments, with participation from Blackhorn Ventures, Amplify Capital, Mercuria Energy, and a national US energy company
– New startup is developing a digital assistant that leverages a proprietary physics-informed AI digital twin and provides enhanced situational awareness capabilities so control room operators can maintain grid reliability
New York, N.Y. (May 23, 2024) – ThinkLabs AI, Inc. (ThinkLabs), a new startup focused on developing technology to help enhance grid planning through a combination of intelligent automation and AI, announced today its launch from GE Vernova and $5M seed investment co-led by Powerhouse Ventures and Active Impact Investments, with participation from Blackhorn Ventures, Amplify Capital, Mercuria Energy, and a national US energy company.
The electrical grid is under historic pressure as the energy transition accelerates. Network congestion from electric vehicle charging and data center growth, aging infrastructure, long interconnection queues for renewable developments, adverse weather events, and workforce constraints are salient pain points for utilities around the world. These pain points create real risks to reliable grid operation.
Led by industry veteran and proven energy entrepreneur Josh Wong, ThinkLabs is developing its flagship product, ThinkLabs Copilot, to help enable control room operators to more effectively operate complex modern grids in increasingly challenging contexts. The digital assistant is being designed to ensure reliability in territories with high penetration of distributed energy resources (DERs) and renewables. For example, EV charging and data centers are causing unpredictable congestions on the grid and causing grid reliability concerns. By utilizing an AI copilot, grid conditions can be continuously monitored, violations detected, and solutions automatically recommended before problems occur.
“As AI is becoming more pervasive in generating texts, images and videos, we see the need for specialized AI for utility grids that are rapidly decarbonizing,” said Josh Wong, founder and CEO of ThinkLabs. “Our unique capability is in modeling real world phenomena governed by physics and engineering into its equivalent physics-informed AI digital twin, and providing a grid copilot for critical grid planning and operations.”
The ThinkLabs Copilot is being designed to support natural language interactions and augments centralized operational systems such as Advanced Distribution Management Systems (ADMS) and Distributed Energy Resource Management Systems (DERMS), while enhancing edge intelligence.
“We are excited by the unique skills and experiences that Josh and the ThinkLabs’ team bring to building autonomous orchestration capabilities, which are critical for modern grids to operate reliably as the world electrifies and decarbonizes,” said Emily Kirsh, Managing Partner, Powerhouse Ventures.
“Maintaining grid stability is getting more complex, and more pivotal as we transition to cleaner, more abundant and variable sources of energy. Josh and his team at ThinkLabs are trusted experts in this industry and have proven their ability to solve complex challenges for utilities and ensure our grid stays reliable,” said Mike Winterfield, Founder and Managing Partner, Active Impact Investments.
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About ThinkLabs AI, Inc.
ThinkLabs AI, Inc. is a specialized AI development and deployment company. Our mission is to empower critical industries and infrastructure with trustworthy AI towards global energy sustainability. We’re developing our flagship product, ThinkLabs Copilot, a digital assistant that understands the real world with proprietary physics-informed AI digital twins that provide a foundation model for engineering systems. For more information on ThinkLabs AI, Inc., visit thinklabs.ai.
About Powerhouse Ventures
Powerhouse Ventures backs entrepreneurs building the digital infrastructure for rapid decarbonization. We invest in founding teams building innovative software to rapidly decarbonize our global energy and mobility systems, and we believe that addressing the climate crisis requires deploying our most viable market-based solutions today. For more information on Powerhouse Ventures visit powerhouse.fund.
About Active Impact Investments
Active Impact Investments is a Certified B Corp based in Vancouver, BC, whose mission is to support environmental sustainability through profitable investment. We provide money and talent to accelerate the growth of early-stage climate tech companies with revenue and significant growth potential. Our portfolio includes and is seeking some of the most successful startups in North America that are capable of achieving venture scale and becoming extremely profitable while solving the most urgent environmental issues. For more information on Active Impact Investments visit activeimpactinvestments.com.
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