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Schneider Electric agrees to acquire AutoGrid

Alan Neuhauser
Illustration of a digital power grid map forming a dollar sign.

Illustration: Gabriella Turrisi/Axios

Energy giant Schneider Electric has entered an agreement to acquire AutoGrid, which develops software to manage distributed energy assets.

Why it matters: The deal is yet the latest sign that everyone from corporate campuses to large utilities are looking for better ways to build and run distributed resources like solar, wind, storage and electric vehicles.

What's happening: The terms of the deal weren't disclosed, but Schneider and AutoGrid had already built a track record working together.

  • Schneider's corporate venture fund, SE Ventures, led an $85 million Series D-2 financing round for AutoGrid last year.
  • Schneider and AutoGrid began working together in 2015 to develop a distribution management system and a distributed energy management system.
  • Pending regulatory approval, the deal is expected to close in Q3, AutoGrid tells Axios.

Catch up fast: AutoGrid manages about 6,000-plus megawatts of distributed energy resources.

What they're saying: "A lot of the action is at the grid edge — we see that as a huge opportunity in this market," AutoGrid founder and CEO Amit Narayan tells Axios. "It has started to come into the core of how all the utilities need to operate, because all the action is shifting to distributed and renewable assets."

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