Drew Baglino, CEO, Heron Power
Today’s electricity infrastructure can’t meet surging energy demand, holding back the electric economy and driving energy bills higher
Founded by longtime Tesla SVP and backed by leading VCs, Heron Power is developing cheaper, faster and smarter hardware solutions for renewable energy and data centers to connect to the grid
SCOTTS VALLEY, Calif., May 29, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Heron Power, an energy infrastructure company, today announced that it raised $38 million in Series A funding led by Capricorn Investment Group’s Technology Impact Fund, with participation from Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Energy Impact Partners, Gigascale Capital, Powerhouse Ventures, Valor Equity Partners, Tesla co-founder JB Straubel, and former Tesla CFO Zach Kirkhorn. The round brings the total funding raised by Heron Power to $43 million. The company is developing industrial power electronics purpose-built for the 21st-century grid, helping the electricity sector to grow faster with scalable, reliable and software-integrated infrastructure. Heron Power will use the new funding to expand its team and complete engineering of the Heron Link, a solid-state transformer solution displacing legacy transformers and power converters.
Over the last decade, technologies like solar, batteries, and data centers have scaled faster than anyone imagined—growing from a few gigawatts in 2014 to more than 500 GW in 2024, equivalent to roughly two-thirds of the U.S. peak demand. But while energy technologies have leapt forward, the equipment connecting them to the grid hasn’t changed in a century.
Today’s outdated medium-voltage transformers (MVTs) are massive, built with 10 tons of grain-oriented electrical steel and copper submerged in oil, and designed for a one-way, analog grid. They offer no real-time control, can’t regulate voltage or frequency, and can’t adapt to dynamic grid conditions. Now, as energy demand surges, transformers have become a critical bottleneck: lead times stretch up to 24 months, U.S. manufacturing meets less than 20% of demand, and prices have spiked 60-80% since 2020.
“We’re at an inflection point where clean, abundant energy is ready to come online—but grid interconnection challenges hold us back,” said Drew Baglino, Founder and CEO of Heron Power. “Heron Power aims to bridge that gap. With electrification on a path to triple electricity demand and AI’s exponential need for power, we’re moving fast on the opportunity to modernize the grid with more capable hardware.”
Heron Power’s first product, the Heron Link, deletes the legacy transformer and connects directly to medium voltage. It is a modular megawatt-scale power converter built on the latest advances in wide-bandgap semiconductors. Designed for high power density and ease of maintenance, it offers greater reliability and lower costs for renewable, energy storage, and data center developers. With integrated voltage and frequency regulation, Heron Link also enhances grid stability—helping to prevent cascading outages like the one in Spain in early 2025.
Heron Power has partnerships with major energy and datacenter developers. The company is targeting an internal pilot in 2026, partner installations in early 2027, and plans to manufacture Heron Link in the US. The team brings deep technical expertise, having collectively designed and deployed over 80 gigawatts of grid-connected power electronics over the past decade.
“Power electronics innovation brings the power of ‘Moore’s law’ to energy,” said Dipender Saluja, co-managing partner of Capricorn’s Technology Impact fund. “For two decades, we’ve sought out and invested in transportation, aviation, electronics, materials and energy companies with innovative power electronics at the core of their products. Heron Power’s team is singularly impressive: they have the technical depth, execution experience, and clarity of intention to reinvent utility-scale power electronics.”
About Heron Power
Heron Power Electronics Company is developing industrial power electronics purpose-built for the 21st-century grid, helping the electricity sector to grow faster with scalable, reliable and software-integrated infrastructure. Its modular solid state transformer technology enables renewable energy, storage, and datacenter developers to directly connect to medium voltage transmission without the use of a transformer. Led by founder and CEO Drew Baglino, the Scotts Valley, CA-based company combines expertise in power electronics, software, and high-volume manufacturing. For more information, visit www.heronpower.com.
Media Contact
press@heronpower.com
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/1ce02aff-c8e9-47f7-a919-f99d440e7ea2
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