Nvidia and other notable firms in the finance and tech fields are backing a startup whose aim is to change data centers into assets to electrical power grids instead of being liabilities to energy providers.
Emerald AI is the startup focused on addressing growing concerns about the power-hungry character of data centers at a time when grids are on the brink of being overwhelmed by this power demand.
In a recently completed funding round, Emerald AI raised $24.5 million. Radical Ventures led this funding round which featured Nvidia and AMPLO, among other leading firms. Notable individuals that participated in this round included John Kerry, who once served as a climate envoy for the U.S.; Jeff Dean, the chief scientist at Google; John Doerr, the chair of Kleiner Perkins; and Fei-Fei Li, a pioneering scientist in the AI field.
Varun Sivaram is the CEO and founder of Emerald AI. He is a physicist who worked as a senior aide to John Kerry during the time when Kerry served as climate envoy.
The software made by the startup is designed to tweak AI workloads in response to grid energy supply changes. The software eases grid stress during periods when energy demand is peaking and modulates the need to establish new energy infrastructure and generation projects.
The company conducted field tests on its software in Phoenix. During those tests, Nvidia, Oracle, Salt River Project (a regional energy utility firm), among others, participated in the tests. The tests revealed that the software could reduce the power consumption of AI workloads by 25% in a 3-hour timeframe when the grid was experiencing stress. Additionally, the power reduction at data centers didn’t compromise computational performance.
The system leverages data center controls and Nvidia chips to adjust AI workloads within and between data centers so that less computational power is deployed at a particular center at a time when energy demand is threatening the integrity of the grid. Once that increase in demand wanes, the software allows the data center to deploy more computing power as energy availability rises.
The software is due to undergo additional testing at different sites around the country to validate its ability to ease bringing online new power generated from renewable sources. This interconnection is expected to happen without ramping up the need for additional infrastructure. In this way, renewable power generators will not have to wait for years before getting onto the grid, and data centers can help in absorbing the shocks triggered by variations in renewable energy generation capacity on sunny days or ideal conditions for wind energy production.
Emerald AI is therefore aiming to turn data centers into assets rather than liabilities to utility firms. Commercial deployment is expected to commence next year after the planned extra tests are completed over the coming six months.
Tech giants like Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ: AVGO) that focus on providing software solutions for different verticals in the tech industry could take an interest in the workings of Emerald AI’s software since it could provide a valuable complement to their offerings.
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