Grid Platform 'Texture' Secures 12.5M to Optimize Software for Utility Management
Grid software company Texture announced this month that it has raised $12.5 million in a Series A funding round to support the platform's data infrastructure to measure the grid in real time. Venture capitalists VoLo Earth Ventures and Equal Ventures co-led the round to help advance the New York-based platform, already operational at utility cooperatives and energy companies.
This Series A brings Texture's total funding to roughly $23 million, according to an issued release.
Texture claims its systems help utilities operate by managing data center instabilities, integrating utility-scale renewables, controlling distributed generation on local networks, and hardening transmission assets against extreme weather— all on grids originally built for one-way power flow. The problem Texture adds is that utilities are being asked to ensure these new technologies being deployed for grid modernization deliver.
Through its AI management tools, Texture claims to monitor for transformer overload and potential outage risk before failures occur. Examples the software company highlighted were an EV charging station doubling its energy draw overnight, multiplied by other neighbors, can cause significant stress on grid infrastructure that wasn’t meant to manage that computed load.
That is why Texture has viewed this as an opportunity in the market to improve grid management efficiency before failures to avoid months of operational exposure, as transformer prices have continued to spike amid supply constraints, according to Wood Mackenzie. Texture also states that its software doesn’t require the removal of existing systems, such as smart thermostats or advanced metering infrastructure, to integrate.
The company has partnered with the National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative (NRTC) to reportedly provide member co-ops with access to its management tools previously available only to larger utility networks.
“A co-op serving 15,000 members shouldn't have to build custom technology to launch a battery program or manage transformer load,” said Sanjiv Sanghavi, Texture's co-founder and CEO, in a statement. “We built Texture so they don't have to."
Texture points to Vermont Electric Cooperative as one of its large utility clients that has integrated its software to monitor their grids and manage hundreds of batteries across its service territory.
