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§ Private Profile · San Francisco, CA, USA
Sunverge Energy is a technology company.
Sunverge Energy develops a distributed energy resource management platform for residential solar and battery storage. This intelligent system orchestrates networked home energy assets, forming virtual power plants. Its core capability optimizes renewable energy use, enhances grid stability, and provides homeowners and utilities with advanced control over energy flows, maximizing efficiency and resilience across the power network.
Kenneth Munson and Dean Sanders co-founded Sunverge in 2009. They identified the critical need for sophisticated management of distributed renewable energy to ensure grid reliability. Munson, leveraging technology expertise, and Sanders, as CTO, aimed to integrate home energy systems into a flexible and responsive electricity grid, addressing intermittency challenges.
Sunverge's platform serves utilities, grid operators, and homeowners optimizing solar and battery investments. The product facilitates demand response participation and reduces energy expenses through intelligent management. The company's vision is to establish distributed renewable energy as a fundamental, reliable component of the modern electricity grid, promoting energy independence and system sustainability.
Sunverge Energy has raised $62.5M across 3 funding rounds.
Sunverge Energy has raised $62.5M in total across 3 funding rounds.
Sunverge Energy is a San Francisco-based technology company founded in 2010 that develops cloud-based software platforms for managing distributed energy resources (DERs), including solar, storage, and virtual power plants (VPPs).[2][1] It optimizes renewable energy value by aggregating behind-the-meter assets like batteries and solar systems, serving homeowners, utilities, grid operators, and commercial sites to enable grid stability, peak load reduction, and consumer energy control.[1][2][3] The platform solves intermittency issues in renewables by providing dynamic co-optimization of consumer and grid services, such as demand response, solar firming, and real-time energy dispatch, while delivering bill savings and backup power.[1][3][5]
Sunverge's growth included partnerships with utilities like Arizona Public Service, Lakeland Electric, and Green Mountain Power for resiliency programs, and integrations like LG's energy storage systems.[1][5] By 2024, its DER management platform was acquired by Budderfly, enhancing VPP capabilities for commercial mid-market customers and accelerating clean energy adoption without upfront CapEx.[4]
Sunverge Energy was founded in 2010 in San Francisco, California, focusing on leveraging distributed generation, storage, and SaaS to optimize renewable energy.[2] Under CEO Martin Milani, the company emerged amid rising solar adoption and grid challenges, developing the Sunverge One storage-integrated system (SIS) and cloud platform for VPPs.[1][5] Early traction came from utility pilots, such as a 1.8 MW solar-storage VPP with SunPower and Con Edison, testing resilience and demand response.[3]
Pivotal moments included 2017 deals with three U.S. utilities—APS in Arizona for solar innovation, Lakeland Electric in Florida for commercial peak shaving, and Green Mountain Power in Vermont for outage backup—demonstrating real-world reliability like seven hours of power during blackouts.[5] By 2019, integration with LG's home energy storage validated its open DER platform for dynamic VPP services.[1] The trajectory culminated in Budderfly's 2024 acquisition of its DERMS technology, shifting Sunverge toward enabling end-to-end VPPs for broader commercial use.[4]
Sunverge stands out in DER management through these key strengths:
Post-acquisition, its tech pioneers CapEx-free VPPs for mid-market via Budderfly, combining storage, solar, and EV charging.[4]
Sunverge rides the DER and VPP wave in the energy transition, addressing renewable intermittency and grid strain from surging solar, EVs, and electrification.[1][4] Timing aligns with utility shifts to demand-side flexibility—post-2010 solar boom and 2020s VPP incentives—enabling cost reductions, reliability, and renewable goals without massive infrastructure.[3][5] Market forces like time-of-use rates, peak demand pressures, and ISO integrations favor its real-time aggregation, as seen in APS's solar study and Con Edison pilots.[3][5]
It influences the ecosystem by validating DER software for utilities and OEMs (e.g., LG), paving the way for scalable VPPs that middle-market businesses now access via Budderfly, reducing grid pressure and accelerating decarbonization.[1][4]
Sunverge's DER platform, now powering Budderfly's VPPs, positions it to scale across commercial sites amid rising DER adoption and grid modernization.[4] Next steps likely involve expanding EV integration and multi-site aggregations, capitalizing on regulatory pushes for flexibility markets. Trends like AI-optimized grids and mid-market clean energy will amplify its reach, evolving from utility pilots to widespread resiliency tools—ultimately optimizing renewables at the grid edge where value is generated.[1][4] This cements Sunverge's legacy in making distributed energy a grid cornerstone.
Sunverge Energy has raised $62.5M across 3 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $11.0M Other Equity in August 2019.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 7, 2019 | $11M Venture Round | Geoff Eisenberg | Gareth Burns, Chuck Caisley | Announced |
| Feb 10, 2016 | $36.5M Series C | Alistair Preston | Australian Renewable Energy Agency, SBCVC, Siemens Venture Capital, Total Energy Ventures | Announced |
| Jun 1, 2014 | $15M Series B | Mark Bonnar | Verve Ventures, Ralf Schnell, Christophe Tonion | Announced |
Sunverge Energy has raised $62.5M in total across 3 funding rounds.
Sunverge Energy's investors include Geoff Eisenberg, Gareth Burns, Chuck Caisley, Alistair Preston, Australian Renewable Energy Agency, SBCVC, Siemens Venture Capital, Total Energy Ventures, Mark Bonnar, Verve Ventures, Ralf Schnell, Christophe Tonion.