Zach Dell's Base Power has closed a $1bn funding round valuing the company at $13bn, aiming to solve America's AI-driven power crunch by installing home battery fleets. The company installs 39.2kWh batteries in households for up to $650 plus a monthly fee, operating as a retail electricity provider in deregulated markets like Texas and Illinois. Base Power's software controls the batteries to buy electricity when prices are low and sell during peak demand, turning homes into active grid assets. The fleet has grown to about 25,000 units, with recent expansion into Chicago via utility Com Ed.

Dell, 30, founded Base in 2023 after identifying fundamental constraints in utility-scale battery storage during his time at Blackstone. His goal is to become "one of the largest and fastest-growing power developers on the planet." The venture benefits indirectly from the AI boom driving his father Michael Dell's Dell Technologies, which projects $60bn in AI server sales for fiscal 2027. While Dell insists there was no grand plan linking the two businesses, both are capitalizing on surging data center demand. Base Power operates multiple factories and is raising billions to meet escalating grid congestion and electricity prices nationwide.