Dutch energy-AI startups set their sights on the grid itself

While public debate about energy AI often centres on smart thermostats and consumer savings apps, a different development is unfolding in the Netherlands. A cluster of startups is building software for the infrastructure side of the energy system: balancing the high-voltage grid, forecasting for wind and solar farms, optimising district heating networks and managing industrial energy flows. In the first half of 2025, several of these companies closed new funding rounds, signalling that investors are taking the segment seriously.

The six companies featured in this overview were all founded in the Netherlands, use AI or machine learning as a core component of their product, and focus primarily on the business or infrastructure side of the energy market. Together they represent a broad spectrum: from trading optimisation and data processing to digital twins for district heating.

Trading and forecasting for energy producers

Dexter Energy (Amsterdam, 2017) develops software for forecasting and trading optimisation at wind, solar and battery parks. The system helps energy companies reduce their balancing costs and plan battery storage deployment. In July 2025 the company closed a Series C round of €23 million, led by Alantra's energy transition fund Klima, with participation from Mirova and existing investors ETF Partners, Newion and PDENH. Dexter previously raised €2 million in a Series A (2021) and €10.5 million in a Series B, led by ETF Partners and Astelia.

The company now works with more than eighty energy companies, including Centrica Energy, Pure Energie and Luminus, and is active in thirteen European countries. CEO Luuk Veeken leads a team of nearly one hundred employees.

Sympower (Amsterdam, 2015) focuses on the demand side of the balancing mechanism. The company aggregates flexible capacity from industrial consumers and makes it available to national grid operators. With €74.5 million in Series B financing, it is the most heavily funded player in this overview. Sympower operates in multiple European countries and works with transmission system operators that require controllable capacity to keep electricity supply and demand in balance.

District heating as urban energy infrastructure

Gradyent (Rotterdam, 2019) builds a digital twin platform for heating and cooling networks. The system combines real-time sensor data, weather forecasts and geographic information to improve network performance and support operational decision-making. According to the company, the platform can reduce CO2 emissions from a district heating network by up to 10 percent and cut costs by up to 20 percent. Those figures come from Gradyent itself and have not been independently verified.

In April 2025, Gradyent raised €28 million in a Series B led by Blue Earth Capital, with participation from SEB Greentech Venture Capital and existing investors Capricorn Partners, Eneco Ventures, Helen Ventures and Energiiq. The platform is deployed in more than 35 cities across Europe, serving clients such as Veolia, Shell, Uniper and Gasunie (WarmtelinQ). The team numbers more than 150 employees. Founders are CEO Hervé Huisman and Robert Vrancken.

Industrial energy management and congestion reduction

Tibo Energy (Eindhoven, 2022) develops an energy management system for industrial sites, focused on coordinating solar panels, batteries and EV chargers. Its proprietary AI engine, internally called Alice, manages energy flows in real time. The system runs at more than thirty industrial sites, with multi-site deployments for clients including Montea. Tibo plans to expand into Germany and Belgium.

In June 2025 the company closed a seed round of €6 million, led by KOMPAS VC, with participation from Hitachi Ventures, WEPA Ventures, SET Ventures and Speedinvest. Tibo was founded by Remco Eikhout (CEO), Jeroen Althusius, Josh Mengerink, Linda Zandt-Sloot and Bram Cappers, all connected to the TU/e ecosystem in Eindhoven.

Withthegrid (Utrecht, 2016) offers an IoT platform for monitoring, control and optimisation of energy assets and raised a seed round of €3.5 million. The company targets grid operators and asset owners looking to manage distributed installations from a single environment.

Energy data as foundation

Energyworx (Houten, 2012) occupies a different position in the ecosystem. The company provides a cloud platform for the automated processing of smart meter data and IoT data at utilities. Utilities and grid operators use the platform for validation, estimation and processing of large data volumes. For three consecutive years, Energyworx was the only European provider to appear in Gartner's Magic Quadrant for Meter Data Management in the Visionaries category.

In 2021 the company raised €5.1 million, led by Eneco, with participation from SET Ventures, EDP Ventures and Engie Ventures. CEO Marcel E. Smit leads a team of 36 employees. Energyworx serves both energy suppliers and grid operators, which distinguishes it from providers that focus on one side of the market.

For policymakers and grid operators, the emergence of this type of software layer is significant. As the share of variable renewable energy on the grid grows, so does the need for accurate forecasting and flexibly controllable capacity. The fact that the funding rounds of Dexter, Gradyent and Tibo all took place in the first half of 2025 indicates that investors expect demand for these tools to persist in the years ahead. For other founders in the energy-AI segment, the market is becoming increasingly segmented: generic energy platforms are giving way more and more to specialised solutions tailored to specific asset classes or grid types.