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BFD Expert Voices - Climate Deals

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The power of focus and lowering corporate walls are lessons that Drew Baglino, Heron Power founder and CEO, learned during his close to two decades at Tesla. 

Why it matters: Heron Power is out raising funds at an up to $1 billion valuation.

Zoom in: Baglino says at Tesla he learned the importance of finding a company's value-add and making sure not to veer off track.

"I'm trying very hard to avoid those distractions," said Baglino in conversation with investor Mike Schroepfer, partner with Gigascale Capital, at a Monday event during San Francisco Climate Week.

At Tesla "there was some hubris applied to some technical decisions that unnecessarily risked the success of the company," said Baglino. He pointed to how Tesla built EVs but also had "a side dalliance with reinventing automation."  

Context: His work at Tesla informed his ideas about when a company should build its own technology versus when to outsource it to partners. 

"Tesla definitely made some mistakes on that, on both sides," said Baglino. 

Catch up quick: Baglino founded Heron Power in 2024 to develop solid state transformers (SSTs), a type of next-gen transformer that uses semiconductor materials to control the flow of electric power more efficiently, more flexibly and in a more compact space.

Other companies that are making SSTs include Amperesand and DG Matrix. 

Follow the money: Heron Power previously raised a $38 million Series A last year led by Capricorn Investment Group. 

Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Energy Impact Partners, Gigascale Capital, Powerhouse Ventures, Valor Equity Partners, and former Tesla executives JB Straubel and Zach Kirkhorn also invested.

Axios Pro previously reported that Andreessen Horowitz joined the latest raise.

Behind the scenes: Heron Power is highly valued compared to its SST peers, but also at an early stage in comparison. 

Baglino said at the event that Heron is working on partnerships with its first key customers in the sectors of data centers, solar and batteries. 

"The technology is in the lab working, but the planning is in the field for first demonstration with each of our key customers," says Baglino.

Tesla vet turned energy founder shares lessons learned

Heron Power, a next-gen transformers startup, is out raising funds at an up to $1 billion valuation.

Two men in a casual indoor interview. One man with glasses and a beard speaks into a handheld microphone; the other is seen from the back in a quilted black jacket, beside a tall plant.

Heron Power founder and CEO Drew Baglino, right, talks with Gigascale Capital's Mike Schroepfer. Photo: Katie Fehrenbacher/Axios

The power of focus and lowering corporate walls are lessons that Drew Baglino, Heron Power founder and CEO, learned during his close to two decades at Tesla. Why it matters: Heron Power is out <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="raising funds" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/pro/climate-deals/2026/02/03/heron-power-drew-baglino-a16z-transformers" data-vars-content-id="94fe6784-62cd-4e2a-bce7-3e694c29fec6" data-vars-headline="Tesla vet turned energy founder shares lessons learned" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/pro/climate-deals/2026/02/03/heron-power-drew-baglino-a16z-transformers" target="_self">raising funds</a> at an up to $1 billion valuation.

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Tesla vet turned energy founder shares lessons learned

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