PowerX, a Brooklyn, New York-based tech startup that has developed a suite of smart energy products to optimize a home’s electricity, gas and water usage, announced a $4 million investment from SpringTide Capital, Antler Global and senior executives from Tesla and SpaceX. Spring Tide Capital led the round, joining Antler U.S. and Y Combinator, which previously invested in the company.
The capital will accelerate product development and expand PowerX’s team of engineers, marketers and data scientists to helping PowerX reach an installed base of 10,000 homes. The investment arrives after a successful pilot in New England, where several dozen homeowners saved on average $1,000 on their utility bills after installing PowerX.
“We created PowerX to put money back in homeowners’ pockets while reducing their carbon emissions. All without compromising at-home comfort or requiring major lifestyle changes, a win-win for consumers and the planet,” said Manuel Schönfeld, founder and CEO of PowerX. “We’re thrilled to align with a phenomenal group of investors who share our vision. The added capital and strategic guidance will accelerate our plans to install PowerX in thousands of homes.”
The PowerX suite leverages advanced AI to optimize a home’s utilities, automatically lowering energy costs. Homeowners have detailed information down to the appliance level, giving them complete control to further reduce their usage and carbon output. PowerX suite of products available at launch include: PowerX Heat,a plug-and-play sensor that learns the hot water usage patterns of homes, and optimizes the water heater to heat only as much water as needed when needed; PowerX Electricity, a smart monitoring sensor installed inside the electrical panel to analyze a home’s electricity use by learning to know every appliance’s electrical signature and analyzing its power draw in real time and PowerX Water, a sensor that clamps to a home’s water main and allows it to monitor water usage throughout the home.
“We’ve been fortunate to work closely with Manu as he’s developed PowerX. From day one, we’ve believed he is the right founder to develop this cutting-edge technology that leverages the advances in IoT sensors and AI and has the capacity to fundamentally shift residential and commercial markets,” said Navi Singh, head of technology at Antler. “With this follow-on investment, we’re excited to continue supporting PowerX as it brings its solutions to market to help people save money and reduce their carbon footprint while doing so.”
PowerX also recently concluded a crowdfunding campaign to build a community of early adopters and fund the first production run. The campaign beat its goal in a matter of days, became a top-rated technology product on Kickstarter and raised over 10x its funding goal.
PowerX products for homeowners are scheduled to begin shipping later this year.
