Terragrit, an AI platform for simulating physical operations, has received a strategic investment from National Grid Partners, the venture investment and innovation arm of National Grid.
The investment will support Terragrit’s growth and expand its work with energy and utility companies, where operational decisions can have major impacts on cost, reliability and infrastructure.
Utilities are dealing with aging infrastructure, rising demand and increasingly complex networks. As demand changes faster, companies need better ways to test operational decisions before making changes in the real world.
Terragrit provides a virtual environment where teams can build models of their operations, test different decisions and compare potential outcomes.
For example, a utility dealing with increased electricity demand from a new data center could use the platform to compare options such as upgrading a substation, adding a transmission line or changing how existing capacity is used. Teams can then review the potential costs, timelines and reliability impacts before choosing an approach.
“Utilities are managing increasingly complex systems while facing growing pressure to make critical infrastructure decisions faster,” said Arun Chetty, VP of Corporate Venture Capital at National Grid Partners. “Terragrit’s AI-driven approach has the potential to unlock tremendous value for companies like ours. For the first time, cross-functional stakeholders can collaborate on a shared canvas to iterate physical environments faster. The same tool a maintenance worker uses to simulate options for immediately addressing downtime is also the tool used by infrastructure teams to plan grid evolution that supports the new era of datacenter demand. That’s exactly the kind of practical value we look for.”
“National Grid operates infrastructure that serves more than 80 million people across the U.K. and the U.S.,” said Sam Nagar, founder and CEO of Terragrit. “At that scale, decisions can’t afford to be wrong. That’s exactly the scale this platform is built for, and it’s the kind of relationship that will shape where we take it next.”
The platform is designed to be used by operational teams without requiring advanced engineering training, allowing more employees to take part in complex decision-making.
Through the partnership, Terragrit will also gain access to National Grid Partners’ industry expertise and network, including the NextGrid Alliance, which connects innovation leaders from more than 170 utility companies worldwide.
Terragrit plans to use the investment to accelerate product development and support its commercial growth, with energy and utilities remaining a key focus.
The company also serves other industries with physical operations, including manufacturing, supply chain, transportation and healthcare.
