With AI adoption exploding and streaming platforms driving up computing loads, global electricity demand from data centres is expected to double by 2030, reaching nearly 945 terawatt-hours — equal to Japan’s entire energy use. That kind of growth comes at a steep environmental and financial cost. Enter Zendo Energy, a UK startup that wants to make data centres smarter, cleaner, and more cost-efficient.
The company has just secured £1.75 million in pre-seed funding to build its AI-powered Energy OS platform. Led by deep tech investor Fly Ventures, with participation from Octopus Ventures, Pact VC, and industry angels, the funding will help Zendo transform how data centres manage power in a high-demand, climate-conscious world.
Zendo’s Energy OS Tackles AI Demand and Renewable Complexity
Founded in 2024 by Jade Batstone (ex-Square, SWIFT) and Drew Barrett (former Head of Renewable Procurement at Octopus Energy), Zendo blends energy industry expertise with software innovation. Its Energy OS is designed to reduce energy costs by up to 25%, while helping data centres integrate renewable energy with less risk and hassle.
The platform uses predictive analytics to help operators forecast AI workloads, optimise infrastructure, and secure better energy contracts. It’s particularly useful for colocation data centres, which rent space to multiple tenants but often lack insight into how those tenants use computing power. Zendo gives them tools to forecast demand, manage price volatility, and monetise underused capacity — what the team calls “stranded power.”
By identifying where power, cooling, and space don’t align, Zendo unlocks hidden efficiencies that would otherwise go to waste. For operators, this means increased revenue and lower carbon emissions — without expanding infrastructure.
The need for this kind of tech is urgent. Data centres already use 1–1.5% of global electricity, and that figure is rising fast. AI alone is expected to make up 70% of total data centre capacity by 2030, up from just 15% today. Goldman Sachs predicts a 165% surge in power demand from the sector this decade, requiring $720 billion in grid upgrades.
Zendo’s platform simplifies renewable energy procurement too. Traditionally, data centres rely on Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), which can take a year to negotiate. Zendo speeds that up by helping operators understand their usage patterns, forecast future needs, and match them to the right renewable deals. It’s an approach already proven by Google, which cut PPA negotiations to just 100 days and now secures over 1.5GW of clean power annually.
Backing Zendo’s Vision of Greener, Smarter Data Centres
Zendo’s mission is to help data centres cut costs and emissions — without compromise. “Data centres are like energy suppliers,” said Barrett. “They live and die by how well they manage power. With AI workloads becoming more complex, managing volatility is key to survival.”
Investors are taking note. “Zendo is building the future of data centre operations,” said Gabriel Matuschka of Fly Ventures. “Their technology could unlock a greener, more profitable generation of computing infrastructure.”
Kirsten Connell of Octopus Ventures agrees: “Zendo’s Energy OS tackles one of the world’s most urgent problems. As AI demand soars, we need bold founders building smarter, climate-ready solutions.”
Zendo is still early in its journey, but the company is already making waves in a sector that urgently needs innovation. With the Energy OS, data centres no longer have to choose between performance and sustainability—they can have both.
