Welcome to The Stack’s One To Watch. Every week we pick out a notable startup and go deep on what they’re building, why they’re building it, and the trials behind it all.
Since ChatGPT launched in 2022 and kicked off an AI boom, few industries have received more attention and investment than that of the once-mundane data centre. Accelerated build-outs have brought supply chain troubles and memory shortages, but one of the sector's biggest bottlenecks is energy supply.
Seyed Madaeni and Matt Penfold set up San Francisco startup Verse in 2022 to solve this problem. Verse's Aria software platform is built to automate and optimise balancing energy assets that power data centres big and small.
The now 60-strong company has received the backing of Google, NVIDIA, and a host of VCs, raising more than $80 million since 2022. Most recently closing a $54 million Series B in June 2026.
CEO Madaeni sat down with The Stack in the wake of its Series B to discuss how energy load balancing can get data centres online quicker, "self-driving" batteries, and why he thinks energy problems will persist for the sector.
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