Energy Startup Base Power Raises $1 Billion to Install Residential Batteries Amid AI-Driven Power Demand

A company co-founded by the son of Dell Technologies CEO Michael Dell plans to build and install tens of thousands of batteries in residential backyards — as the expansion of artificial intelligence data centers puts increased demand on power grids.

Energy startup Base Power, co-founded by Zach Dell and Justin Lopas, is installing batteries at homes in Texas and parts of Chicago that can be used when electricity demand spikes. The company acts as a retail power provider — it can feed energy to the grid during periods of high demand or provide backup power during outages.

Base, which launched three years ago, secured $1 billion in funding, boosting its valuation to $13 billion. The company has raised over $2.5 billion in all, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The financing round was led by Ribbit, Addition, Valor Equity Partners and JPMorganChase’s Strategic Investment Group. The co-founder’s father, Michael Dell, who recently made headlines for donating $6 billion to President Donald Trump’s “Trump Accounts,” is not a backer.

U.S. electricity demand hit record levels in 2025 — and is expected to continue to rise due to increased AI use, which requires even more energy storage.

The company has experienced rapid growth, installing more than 23,000 batteries across Texas and Chicago, but has plans to enter more states and eventually international markets, Zach Dell told the Journal.

Electrical grids in Texas, where Base mainly operates, have long experienced troubles under increased demand, including in 2021, when a powerful winter storm left millions of homes without power in freezing conditions, leading to over 200 deaths.

Base notes on its website that its tech is meant to withstand conditions spanning from Texas summers to Chicago winters, and has completed testing for “-22 to 122 Fahrenheit, flash flooding and submersion-rated to 3 feet.”

Base does about 100 installations each day, but anticipates being able to double that pace by the end of the year. Its systems sit near a home’s electric meter and are about the size of an air conditioning compressor unit, according to the report.

The batteries are also built to withstand extreme weather conditions and provide extended outage protection, Reuters reported.

In deregulated markets, Base owns and operates the batteries while serving as the customer’s electricity provider, offering a more cost-effective electricity rate.

Meanwhile, in regulated markets, Base works with utilities and electric cooperatives to use the batteries to relieve local grid bottlenecks.

The company leases a space once occupied by the newspaper, the Austin American-Stateman, but is also planning to build a factory.

The company’s quick growth comes as battery demand in the U.S. is skyrocketing, as the systems are now viewed as a key way to strengthen power grids.

Base also said that it has entered partnerships with utilities including El Paso Electric, Austin Energy and CoServ.