ADVERTISEABOUT USSUBMIT A STORYSUBSCRIBETERMS OF USEPRIVACY POLICY
Visit our family of Brands

Energy startup Base Power raises $1 billion series C round

fresh funding

Base Power, founded by Justin Lopas and Zach Dell, has closed one of the largest venture capital deals of the year. Photo courtesy Base Power.

Austin-based startup Base Power, which offers battery-supported energy in the Houston area and other regions, has raised $1 billion in series C funding—making it one of the largest venture capital deals this year in the U.S.

VC firm Addition led the $1 billion round. All of Base Power’s existing major investors also participated, including Trust Ventures, Valor Equity Partners, Thrive Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Altimeter, StepStone Group, 137 Ventures, Terrain, Waybury Capital, and entrepreneur Elad Gil. New investors include Ribbit Capital, Google-backed CapitalG, Spark Capital, Bond, Lowercarbon Capital, Avenir Growth Capital, Glade Brook Capital Partners, Positive Sum and 1789 Capital Management.

Coupled with the new $1 billion round, Base Power has hauled in more than $1.27 billion in funding since it was founded in 2023.

Base Power supplies power to homeowners and the electric grid through a distributed storage network.

“The chance to reinvent our power system comes once in a generation,” Zach Dell, co-founder and CEO of Base Power, said in a news release. “The challenge ahead requires the best engineers and operators to solve it, and we’re scaling the team to make our abundant energy future a reality.”

Zach Dell is the son of Austin billionaire and Houston native Michael Dell, chairman and CEO of Round Rock-based Dell Technologies.

In less than two years, Base Power has developed more than 100 megawatt-hours of battery-enabled storage capacity. One megawatt-hour represents one hour of energy use at a rate of one million watts.

Base Power recently expanded its service to the city of Houston. It already was delivering energy to several other communities in the Houston area. To serve the Houston region, the startup has opened an office in Katy.

The startup also serves the Dallas-Fort Worth and Austin markets. At some point, Base Power plans to launch a nationwide expansion.

To meet current and future demand, Base Power is building its first energy storage and power electronics factory at the former downtown Austin site of the Austin American-Statesman’s printing presses.

“We’re building domestic manufacturing capacity for fixing the grid,” Justin Lopas, co-founder and chief operating officer of Base Power, added in the release. “The only way to add capacity to the grid is [by] physically deploying hardware, and we need to make that here in the U.S. ... This factory in Austin is our first, and we’re already planning for our second.”

From Your Site Articles
Austin-based Base Power has opened an office and warehouse in Katy. Photo via basepowercompany.com.

Austin energy startup Base Power opens Katy office & expands Houston service

power move

An Austin startup that pairs electricity with backup power has started doing business in Houston.

Base Power announced this spring that it was entering the Houston market, with an initial focus on Cy-Fair, Spring, Cinco Ranch and Mission Bend. Now, Base Power is offering its service to households within the city of Houston.

To support its growth in the Houston area, Base Power has opened an office and warehouse in Katy. More than 30 people now work there. Plans to expand the Katy location are underway.

Base Power provides electricity that’s complemented by home backup power. Homes don’t need to be using solar power to sign up for Base Power’s service.

The startup said its service automatically supplies power to a home when the electric grid fails.

“Unlike traditional backup systems with high upfront costs, Base earns revenue by providing services to the grid — enabling Houstonians to get reliable backup and real savings,” Base Power said.

In addition to its standard service, Base Power has begun offering technology known as the Generator Recharge Port. This component allows a portable generator to plug into the Base battery system to recharge batteries during extended power outages.

“Houston has long been the energy capital of Texas, yet it has also endured some of the nation’s most painful lessons about unreliable power,” said Zach Dell, co-founder and CEO of Base Power. “We see Houston not just as a place to expand, but as a proving ground for how the future of energy should work — resilient, dependable, and built to serve homeowners when it matters most.”

Dell is the only son of Austin tech billionaire Michael Dell, a Houston native.

Base Power’s expansion in Houston adds to its Texas presence. The company now serves homeowners in the Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth and Austin areas. A partnership with homebuilder Lennar and collaborations with two utilities, GVEC and the Bandera Electric Cooperative, are helping drive Base Power’s business.

Base Power has raised more than $270 million in funding since its founding in 2023. This includes a $200 million series B round that will help finance construction of the company’s first factory in Texas and help fuel Base Power’s national expansion.

The startup’s investors include Andreessen Horowitz, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Valor Equity Partners, Thrive Capital, Altimeter, Terrain and Trust.

Base Power, founded by Justin Lopas and Zach Dell, closed a $200 million series B and plans to expand in Texas and around the country. Photo courtesy Base Power.

Texas energy startup closes $200M round to fund first factory in the state

fresh funding

Base Power, an Austin-based startup that provides battery-powered home energy services and just entered the Houston market, has raised $200 million in series B funding.

The money will help finance the construction of Base Power’s first factory in Texas. A site for the factory hasn’t been announced. The cash will also go toward the national expansion of Base Power’s services.

Andreessen Horowitz, Lightspeed Venture Partners and Valor Equity Partners co-led the round, with participation from existing investors such as Thrive Capital, Altimeter, Terrain, and Trust.

As part of the fundraising, Lee Fixel of Addition and Antonio Gracias of Valor Equity Partners are joining Base Power’s board of directors.

Last year, the startup landed $68 million in a series A funding round.

Base Power, founded in 2023, specializes in developing battery storage for energy that it provides to residential customers. Its partners include homebuilder Lennar and the Bandera Electric Cooperative, which supplies power to customers in seven Hill Country counties. Earlier this year it began serving the Houston-area territory serviced by CenterPoint Energy.

“Our rapid expansion has allowed us to power up thousands of Texans in just a few months, while driving their energy costs down and power reliability up,” Zach Dell, co-founder and CEO of Base Power, says in a news release. “With this investment, we will continue to innovate on new grid solutions, establish our domestic manufacturing capabilities, and accelerate adoption nationally.”

Dell’s father is Austin tech billionaire Michael Dell. He founded the company with Justin Lopas.

Shreyans Chopra, founder of Mstack, is celebrating the close of his company's $40 million series A. Photo courtesy of Mstack

Innovative Houston chemicals manufacturing platform provider raises $40M series A

Money moves

Houston-based Mstack, whose platform helps manufacturers source specialty chemicals, has raised $40 million in a series A funding round.

Lightspeed Venture Partners and Alpha Wave Incubation led the round, which includes a debt facility from HSBC Innovation Banking and money from several angel investors.

In a news release, Mstack says the infusion of cash will enable it to “double down on its mission to disrupt a historically flawed supply chain for specialty chemicals.”

This “doubling down” will include expansion of Mstack’s footprint in the U.S., Middle East, Latin America, and Asia.

“Geopolitical dynamics pose risks for supply chain disruptions in the global specialty chemicals market,” Bejul Somaia, a partner at Lightspeed, says in a news release.

“With demand for these chemicals growing rapidly, there is a need to increase R&D investments and unlock new pockets of supply,” he adds. “As the first institutional investor in Mstack, we believe that the company has tremendous potential to lead this transformation.”

Mstack, founded in 2022, currently serves four business sectors: oil and gas, coatings, water treatment, and home and personal care. The funding will enable it to move into industry segments such as agrochemicals and pharmaceuticals.

The Mstack platform gives buyers a one-stop shop for sourcing, testing, shipping, delivering, and tracking specialty chemicals.

“This new funding affirms investor confidence in our vision and technology to transform global markets. It enables us to expand geographically and intensify our R&D efforts,” Mstack founder Shreyans Chopra says.

———

This article originally ran on InnovationMap.

Ad Placement 300x100
Ad Placement 300x600

CultureMap Emails are Awesome

Property Showcase

Baker Hughes closes $13B acquisition of gas equipment maker Chart Industries

m&a activity

Houston-based energy technology company Baker Hughes has completed its $13.6 billion acquisition of Chart Industries, a provider of equipment and services for liquefying gases like LNG, hydrogen, nitrogen and oxygen.

Baker Hughes says the deal advances its “strategic vision” to be a leader in energy and industrial technology.

Jim Apostolides, who had previously served as chief infrastructure and performance officer at Baker Hughes, leads the Chart business in his new role as senior vice president. Chart President and CEO Jill Evanko left the company in January to become CEO of Duravant, which makes equipment for food processing, packaging and materials handling.

Publicly traded Chart reported $4.3 billion in revenue for fiscal year 2025. Its customers operate in sectors such as gas infrastructure, nuclear, data centers, carbon capture and storage, space, and geothermal energy.

“Chart’s thermal management solutions bring complementary capabilities and aftermarket service offerings that accelerate our portfolio strategy,” Lorenzo Simonelli, chairman and CEO of Baker Hughes, said in a news release. “Together, we will expand the solutions we deliver across a broader range of energy and industrial markets and create greater value for customers and shareholders.”

Chart will operate as a new financial reporting segment within Baker Hughes, reflecting what Baker Hughes says is the “scale and strategic importance of its differentiated capabilities in air and gas handling, thermal management, and lifecycle services.”

Baker Hughes announced the Chart deal last July.

“We know Chart well, having worked alongside them on many critical energy infrastructure projects,” Signorelli said last year. “Their products and services are highly complementary to our offerings and strongly aligned with our intent to deliver distinctive and efficient end-to-end lifecycle solutions for our customers across their most critical applications.”

Chart’s website lists offices in Houston, The Woodlands, and Austin, with corporate headquarters in Ball Ground, Georgia. It’s unclear what will happen to those offices.

KBR appoints C-suite duo to lead forthcoming spinoff

Making Moves

In advance of the spinoff of its Mission Technology Solutions unit, Houston-based KBR has made two C-suite hires for the new business.

Michael LaRouche is coming aboard as president and CEO of the spinoff, currently called SpinCo, on Sept. 26. Nicholas Veasey joined as executive vice president and chief financial officer earlier this month, on July 1.

“Michael and Nick bring a highly complementary combination of operational leadership, financial expertise, and mission-driven experience, and together they will accelerate our impact for stakeholders,” Stuart Bradie, chairman, president and CEO of publicly traded KBR, said in a news release.

LaRouche currently is CEO of Serco North America, a Herndon, Virginia-based government services contractor. Veasey most recently was CFO of MAG Aerospace, a Fairfax, Virginia-based defense contractor.

SpinCo, a government services contractor, will launch with more than $5.3 billion in annual revenue and 20,000 employees. KBR’s total headcount is around 36,000. Branding for SpinCo, including a formal name, will be revealed in July.

“SpinCo is positioned as a top-tier provider of differentiated technology solutions, anchored by deep mission expertise, global scale, and a relentless commitment to delivering for our customers,” LaRouche says.

After the spinoff, the slimmed-down KBR will focus on its Sustainable Technology Solutions business, a provider of energy and industrial technology that generated $2.5 billion in revenue in 2025 and is designed to reduce carbon emissions and support energy transition efforts. Bradie will remain chairman, president and CEO of the business.

Both SpinCo and the new KBR will be public companies. The spinoff is scheduled to be completed in January 2027.

---

This article first appeared on InnovationMap.com.

Houston PE firm makes latest nuclear industry acquisition

nuclear deal

Houston-based private equity firm Pelican Energy Partners has acquired California-based Veridiam for an undisclosed amount in an effort to further increase the firm’s focus on the nuclear energy sector.

Veridiam is a strategic manufacturer that specializes in the precision fabrication of components and assemblies made from exotic metals or advanced alloys for the nuclear, aerospace, defense, space and medical fields.

Following the acquisition, Veridiam will continue to operate under its existing name and will led by its current management team, including CEO Brian Joyal.

“Joining the Pelican platform accelerates our strategic trajectory," Joyal said in a news release. "With Pelican's support, we will accelerate the modernization and expansion of our manufacturing capabilities to meet unprecedented demand across the nuclear, aerospace, defense, and medical sectors. This partnership also enables us to expand our portfolio of mission-critical products and engineered solutions while maintaining the uncompromising quality, precision, and reliability standards that have defined Veridiam for more than 60 years."

Since 2011, Pelican has raised over $1 billion in committed capital and has realized over 15 investments. Currently, Pelican is investing from its fourth fund, which aims to support and advance companies that provide critical services and products to the nuclear power industry.

In 2024, Pelican raised a $450 million fund to invest in nuclear energy services and equipment companies.

The Veridiam deal comes after Pelican has completed several nuclear acquisitions. The PE firm acquired New Hampshire-based Environmental Alternatives Inc., which provides nuclear decontamination services, in April; it acquired Georgia-based WSI Welding Solution in December, which services the nuclear sector.

"Veridiam sits at the center of our investment thesis and reflects the kind of deal Pelican does best," Mike Scott, managing partner and founder of Pelican Energy Partners, added in the news release. "With the right capital and operating support, we see a clear opportunity to strengthen the business, invest in its capabilities, and create long-term value for customers and shareholders."

View All Listings