Sam Altman–Backed Exowatt Secures $50M to Deliver 24/7 Clean Power for the Exploding AI Economy

In a major boost for America’s clean-tech and AI infrastructure race, Exowatt - the solar-thermal startup backed by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman - has raised $50 million to deploy its round-the-clock renewable energy systems directly at data centers and industrial sites across the U.S.

The raise brings Exowatt’s total funding to $140 million in under two years, underscoring investor confidence in the company’s ability to help solve one of the most urgent challenges in technology today: the massive, fast-rising energy demand of AI.

A Solar Breakthrough Designed for the AI Era

Exowatt’s flagship system, the P3, stores solar energy as heat in a long-duration thermal battery and converts it into electricity on demand -delivering reliable, dispatchable clean power day or night, without depending on the grid.

With AI data centers struggling to secure power and grid interconnection queues stretching for years, Exowatt’s approach allows facilities to generate firm, clean energy right at the edge of load, bypassing many of the delays and bottlenecks of traditional infrastructure expansion.

CEO Hannan Happi said the company already faces a demand backlog exceeding 90 GWh, spanning hyperscale data centers, energy developers and industrial buyers. The new funding will accelerate U.S. manufacturing and deployment of the P3 systems.

A Who’s Who of Investors Betting on Fast Deployment

The $50M raise was led by MVP Ventures and 8090 Industries, with participation from a deep bench of climate-tech and growth investors including The Florida Opportunity Fund, DeepWork Capital, Dragon Global, Massive VC, New Atlas Capital, BAM, Overmatch, Protagonist, StepStone, Atomic and Bay Bridge Ventures.

The company’s earlier rounds included high-profile angels Sam Altman and Leonardo DiCaprio, who backed Exowatt’s vision of large-scale, low-carbon energy for the increasingly electricity-hungry AI sector.

Why This Matters: AI’s Power Problem Is Here

Data centers are among the fastest-growing sources of electricity demand in the U.S., and AI training and inference workloads are intensifying the strain. Traditional grid upgrades are too slow, prompting a rush toward on-site, dispatchable clean energy.

Andre de Baubigny, Managing Director of MVP Ventures, said:

“AI demand won’t wait for new transmission interconnections. Exowatt’s dispatchable, American made solar puts firm, clean power at the edge of load – and our investment reflects our conviction in their ability to scale quickly with customers nationwide

The Bottom Line

Exowatt is emerging as one of the U.S.’s most aggressively scaling next-gen energy companies - one with a clear target: deliver clean, reliable, scalable power directly to the facilities driving the AI boom.

Its combination of modular long-duration storage, American manufacturing, and investor backing from leading tech and climate figures positions Exowatt as a potential cornerstone player in powering the next wave of AI infrastructure.