Written by: Basant El-Farmawy
The German company 1Komma5°, specializing in home energy and electricity, has announced a massive investment exceeding $160 million to develop its AI-based energy management system, known as Heartbeat AI. This decision follows the company's success in raising over $110 million in its latest funding round.
Developing AI capabilities and expanding markets
The company's founder and CEO, Philipp Schröder, confirmed that the new funds will be added to the current investment budget to support AI development, enhance software capabilities, and accelerate expansion into global markets. He explained that the main goal is to provide a comprehensive, intelligent energy operating system that can bring clean and affordable energy to millions of users around the world.
How Heartbeat AI works
Heartbeat AI is considered an optimization layer that connects and controls home energy systems, including solar panels, batteries, heat pumps, and electric vehicle chargers. The fully automated platform can access real-time wholesale electricity prices, weather forecasts, and grid demand, automatically making decisions on storing, using, or selling household energy to achieve the best returns for customers.
Global expansion and the Australian market
The company has achieved widespread reach, operating in several global markets including the Australian market, which has attracted more than 60,000 customers since entering in 2022. Luke Stronach, CEO of the Australian branch, noted that this record investment will contribute to the continuous development of the platform and ensure optimal utilization of wholesale electricity market volatility, helping consumers reap the maximum possible benefit.
Funding round backers
The latest funding round was led by Japan's Marunouchi Innovation Partners, which specializes in clean energy technologies, with the participation of a number of existing shareholders, including major investment institutions and global technology support funds.
