Claros Raises $30M to Reinvent Data Center Power for the AI Era

MCLEAN, Va. & TORRANCE, Calif. – March 19, 2026 – As the artificial intelligence boom places an unprecedented strain on global energy grids, power management startup Claros has secured an oversubscribed $30 million seed round to commercialize its novel approach to data center energy efficiency. The funding, co-led by venture capital giants General Catalyst and Red Cell Partners, aims to scale a technology platform designed to slash energy waste from the microscopic level of the processor chip all the way to the facility's connection to the power grid.

The investment arrives at a critical juncture for the tech industry. The computational demands of training and running large AI models are causing an explosion in data center energy consumption, with some projections indicating they could account for 8% of all U.S. electricity use by 2030. This insatiable appetite for power is creating an unsustainable bottleneck, challenging the scalability of AI and threatening the stability of public utilities.

“We can’t ignore the immense energy demands that come with AI workloads and the strain they place on electrical grids throughout the United States and around the world,” said Claros Co-Founder and CEO Daniel Kultran. “To address these concerns, we must reinvent the entire power system with meaningful solutions that minimize energy waste so data centers can unlock greater efficiency and productivity.”

The AI Energy Crisis

At the heart of the problem is a legacy power delivery architecture that is ill-suited for the high-density computing AI requires. In a typical data center, electricity undergoes multiple conversions from alternating current (AC) from the grid to direct current (DC) for the servers, and then through several more voltage changes before it reaches the processing units. Each conversion step sheds energy in the form of heat, with some estimates suggesting that up to 30% of the power entering a data center is lost before it performs any useful computation.

This inefficiency not only drives up operational costs but also creates significant thermal challenges, limiting how densely processors can be packed and ultimately capping performance. Data center operators are often forced into piecemeal and costly solutions to manage power and cooling, slowing down the construction of new facilities needed to meet the AI demand.

A 'Chip-to-Grid' Revolution

Claros is tackling this systemic issue with a holistic, two-pronged platform that rethinks the entire power delivery chain. The company’s “chip-to-grid” strategy consists of an Integrated Voltage Regulator (IVR) for the chip-level and a Power Gateway for the facility-level.

First, the IVR addresses the crucial “last mile” of power delivery. By integrating power regulation directly onto or next to the processor, it drastically shortens the distance electricity must travel. This minimizes the resistance and associated energy loss, promising efficiency gains of up to 30% at the component level. The company has already fabricated three distinct IVR designs, with its initial prototype confirming the architecture's viability. A more advanced design, forming the basis of a proprietary mesh network capable of scaling to over 40,000 amps, is currently undergoing testing in its Los Angeles lab.

Second, the Power Gateway is a DC-native power distributor that targets inefficiencies at the rack and facility scale. By creating an 800-volt DC backbone, it eliminates many of the wasteful AC/DC conversion steps, which Claros claims can boost overall power efficiency by up to 20% and lower the total cost of ownership by 30%. The software-defined system is also designed to seamlessly integrate and switch between various power sources—including the grid, solar, wind, and on-site battery storage—optimizing for cost and availability. A demonstration unit for the Power Gateway has already been assembled for lab testing.

“Together, IVR and Power Gateway address both sides of the data center energy problem: how power is delivered to the chip and how it is sourced and managed at the facility level,” the company explained.

Big Bets on Deep Tech Infrastructure

The significant seed funding, which follows an initial $9.75 million raise when the company launched from stealth in February 2025, highlights a growing investor conviction that the foundational infrastructure for AI is a massive and urgent market opportunity. Investors are increasingly looking beyond software to the deep-tech hardware and systems that make AI possible.

“The power infrastructure supporting AI is one of the most significant investment opportunities of our time,” commented Paul Kwan, a managing director at General Catalyst. “Solving it requires rethinking the entire energy stack and a team with unique experience and technical depth to transform power management.”

This sentiment was echoed by other backers who see Claros's comprehensive vision as a key differentiator in a crowded field.

“Better power delivery at the chip level is essential to unlocking the next generation of data center performance,” said Irena Spazzapan, managing partner at Systemiq Capital. “What stood out to us was Dan and the team's track record in power electronics and their vision for the full power architecture, from chip to grid, making Claros exactly the kind of frontier company we are proud to back.”

From Prototype to Production

With just 26 team members spread across its Northern Virginia office and Los Angeles lab, Claros has demonstrated rapid progress in the 13 months since it emerged from stealth. The new capital infusion is set to accelerate this momentum.

The company plans to use the funds to expand its lab facilities, grow its engineering team, and continue the prototyping and validation of both the IVR and Power Gateway. Crucially, the funding will also enable Claros to begin its first manufacturing runs, a critical step in moving from research and development to commercial deployment.

Beyond the technological innovation, Claros also promises a significant impact on the business of building data centers. Its modular Power Gateway is designed to streamline the complex supply chain and construction process, potentially shortening data center build times by 6 to 12 months. This acceleration could provide a vital competitive edge in the race to build out AI capacity. As Claros moves toward production, the industry will be watching closely to see if its chip-to-grid solution can deliver on its promise to power the future of artificial intelligence more responsibly.