By Riley Kaminer
Is it a little hotter in Miami today? Not just because we’re still on fire from eMerge and the flurry of tech events this month – rather, Miami-born Exowatt launched today with $20 million in tow. This seed round included investors such as a16z, Atomic, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
The renewable energy company has developed a modular energy platform that includes a heat collector, a heat battery, and a heat engine. The idea is that Exowatt’s system stores heat rather than electricity, keeping solar energy in thermal batteries that retain it for up to 24 hours a day – also enabling it to deploy energy no matter the time of day or weather conditions. That stands in stark contrast to traditional solar panels that convert sunlight into electricity directly.
Another advantage to this novel approach: supply chain dependency on scarce rare earth materials. Ultimately, the Exowatt team hopes to offer electricity that costs one cent per kilowatt-hour – making it cheaper than fossil fuels and other renewables.
“Unlike traditional solutions that require significant upfront costs and extended setup times, Exowatt’s modular system can be deployed rapidly and cost-effectively – and it’s available this year,” Exowatt CEO and co-founder Hannan Parvizian said in a statement. “Exowatt is built to respond quickly to the escalating energy demands of the modern world, especially those spurred by the rapid growth of AI.”
Before founding Exowatt, Parvizian founded and exited Volansi, a YC-backed startup in the aerial delivery space. Prior to that, Parvizian, now in Miami, worked at Tesla, General Electric and Siemens.
Exowatt’s first product, the Exowatt P3, fits the space of a standard 40-foot shipping container and is able to be scaled up or down as necessary. Artificial intelligence is putting a strain on data centers – and there’s no sign of slowing down. Exowatt is pitching its product as a solution to our AI-induced energy woes in a context where AI models double in size every three months, requiring a seemingly endless stream of data center power.
“In order to keep up with AI advancements, we need more sustainable energy solutions, which is why we started Exowatt,” said co-founder Jack Abraham. Abraham is also the CEO of Miami-based venture studio Atomic, where Exowatt was incubated. He continued: “Our mission is to provide extremely low-cost energy that advances the capabilities of global AI infrastructure while protecting our planet.”
Katherine Boyle, a general partner at a16z, noted that there is an American dynamism angle to this platform as well. “Exowatt is an innovative company helping to meet our country’s growing energy needs. By committing to full U.S. manufacturing with domestically sourced components, Exowatt will significantly strengthen our national infrastructure and resilience.”
Exowatt shared that it has a backlog of demand, leveraging this seed round to expand its team and start deploying its technology later this year.
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