Google, Nvidia and Anthropic want Emerald AI to find space on the grid for more data centers

Emerald AI formed the AI Energy Management Alliance (AEMA) with Google, Nvidia, Anthropic, and utilities including AES, Constellation, National Grid, and NRG Energy to use its grid-coordination software to free up space for more data centers. AEMA says demand response — pausing noncritical tasks and shifting compute loads — could let an additional 100 gigawatts of data centers connect to the grid, while a Goldman Sachs study found capping grid usage at 90% for a few hours could free 76 gigawatts. Emerald AI, which raised a $150 million Series A led by Energize Capital and DCVC at a $1.05 billion valuation, connects utilities directly to data centers; chief scientist Ayse Coskun said the technology blunts but won't eliminate the need for new generating sources.

Grid software unicorn Emerald AI has formed a coalition with Google and Nvidia that will use the startup’s technology to secure space on the grid for more data centers. The AI Energy Management Alliance https://www.aema.ai AEMA hopes to make demand response — a paradigm in which data centers temporarily reduce their electricity use — an integral part of data center development. Pausing noncritical tasks and shifting some compute loads, AEMA says, could allow an additional 100 gigawatts of data centers to connect to the grid. The founding trio is joined by Anthropic, and a range of utilities including AES, Constellation, National Grid, and NRG Energy. Demand response is an old concept that has been used by utilities for decades. It works because the grid is designed with peak loads in mind. For much of the year, demand is well below the maximum the grid can support. Traditionally, demand response covered large electricity users like factories, which in times of high demand would agree to reduce their usage, typically by pausing production or switching to backup generators. In exchange, the utility would pay them for the service, often handsomely. Today, data centers can also take advantage of those programs, usually by turning on backup generators. Emerald AI has been proposing an alternative to dirty diesel generators. The company’s software coordinates requests from utilities with data centers, which can pause noncritical tasks or shift loads to other data centers where the grid has some headroom. The startup isn’t the only one working on such technology. Google has been developing its own tools, and Enel X lets data centers tap their uninterruptible power supplies to round off peaks in power demand. Limiting max grid usage to 90% for a few hours at a time could let data centers free up 76 gigawatts https://techcrunch.com/2025/02/13/data-center-tweaks-could-unlock-76-gw-of-new-power-capacity-in-the-u-s/ of capacity, according to a study by Goldman Sachs published last year. Emerald AI does have an advantage, though. Its software connects utilities directly to data centers, which should allow data centers to respond quickly to requests, much like batteries. The startup also recently raised $150 million https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260825127649/en/Emerald-AI-Raises-$150-Million-Series-A-at-$1.05-Billion-Valuation-to-Scale-Power-Flexible-AI-Data-Centers in a Series A led by Energize Capital and DCVC, giving it the sort of funding needed to roll out the technology on a wider scale. Given the peaky nature of AI compute loads, and data centers’ ability to quickly ramp up and down, the creation of something like AEMA is overdue. The coalition also promises to help tech companies and utilities find new sites for data centers, an effort that hasn’t been easy for either party. Despite its promise, more sophisticated demand response won’t solve all of the grid’s problems today. Ayse Coskun, Emerald AI’s chief scientist, told TechCrunch that her company’s technology promises to blunt the industry’s need for new generating sources, but it won’t eliminate it entirely.