Derapi secures $7M to streamline connections between devices and grid programs
Derapi, a San Francisco-based startup building connectivity software for distributed energy resources, has raised $7 million in seed funding to expand its team and accelerate development of a platform designed to unify solar systems, home batteries, and electric-vehicle chargers for participation in utility programs and virtual power plants.
The round was led by Earthshot Ventures and included participation from Tuesday Capital, Susquehanna Sustainable Investments, WYVC, Breakthrough Venture Capital, WovenEarth Ventures, Radicle Impact, and Raisewell Ventures. Angel investors included E8 Angels, GreenSky Capital, and Aurora Venture Investments. The company said the new investors join existing backers UNION, Ubiquity Ventures, and M1C.
The problem: behind-the-meter devices are proliferating, but underused
Utilities and grid operators are increasingly seeking flexible capacity—resources that can respond quickly to demand spikes and reliability events—as electricity consumption rises and extreme weather adds stress to transmission and distribution networks. At the same time, behind-the-meter technologies such as rooftop solar, residential storage, smart thermostats, and EV charging equipment are expanding rapidly across the US.
Despite their growth, many of these assets remain underutilized in grid programs because connecting them to utility systems and virtual power plants (VPPs) is still slow, expensive, and heavily customized. New device manufacturers and software platforms often face months of bespoke engineering work to meet the requirements of each utility program, device type, and aggregator—an approach that does not scale as the number of devices and vendors multiplies.
That lag is becoming harder to tolerate as reliability pressures mount and utilities look for faster ways to tap distributed flexibility without waiting for long infrastructure buildouts.
A universal integration layer built around a trusted API
Derapi aims to reduce that friction with what it describes as a universal integration layer that standardizes how devices, software platforms, and grid programs connect. Rather than building dozens of one-off integrations, the company offers a single, manufacturer-approved API intended to support secure data access, device control, and authorization across a broad ecosystem.
In practice, the pitch is straightforward: utilities and energy companies can scale programs more quickly, while device makers and distributed energy software providers can lower engineering costs and shorten time-to-market. If integration becomes repeatable and secure, more devices can participate in grid services—turning scattered consumer hardware into a coordinated resource during peak demand periods.
The company says the funding will be used to strengthen its platform and expand its team as it works to support connectivity for “millions of smart energy devices nationwide,” enabling customers to build new grid-centric products faster.
Founders and early traction
Derapi was founded by Thomas Lee and Stina Brock. The company positions itself as a foundational layer for an increasingly software-defined electricity system and notes that its team includes veterans from energy and clean-tech organizations such as EnergyHub, Enphase, AutoGrid, and Proterra—companies that have long navigated the complexity of integrating devices into utility operations.
Stina Brock, CEO of Derapi, said the company was built to make distributed energy “easier to connect, easier to trust, and easier to scale,” arguing that simpler integration can speed innovation while improving grid flexibility and resilience.
Industry partners echoed the focus on onboarding speed. Gisela Glandt, Vice President of Partnerships and Business Development at Uplight, said the platform has improved the pace at which her company can onboard new battery partners, allowing utility customers to access more distributed resources while freeing internal teams to focus on product development.
Why investors are paying attention
Investors backing the round framed the opportunity as one of infrastructure and coordination. Ramsay Siegal, Partner at Earthshot Ventures, described the future grid as “distributed, dynamic, and software-defined,” and said Derapi is helping transform fragmented devices into coordinated, grid-scale infrastructure.
The thesis aligns with broader market dynamics: as EV adoption grows and residential electrification expands, utilities face steeper peaks and more volatile demand patterns. VPPs and other distributed programs are increasingly viewed as a way to add capacity and flexibility without relying solely on new generation or large-scale grid upgrades—provided the integration burden can be reduced.
What comes next
With seed funding secured, Derapi is expected to focus on scaling its integration coverage across device manufacturers and energy platforms, while deepening security and authorization capabilities to meet utility-grade requirements. The company’s success will likely depend on how quickly it can become a trusted connective standard in a market where interoperability, cybersecurity, and regulatory compliance are central concerns.
If it can deliver a repeatable integration model, Derapi could help accelerate the transition from isolated consumer energy devices to a coordinated, responsive network—one that utilities can reliably call on as the US grid faces rising load, tighter reliability margins, and a rapidly changing generation mix.
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