Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy has selected 21 startups it believes will shape the future of energy. The firm is betting that a coming wave of electrification will make today’s data-center energy demands look small by comparison.
TechCrunch reports that Breakthrough Energy sees electrification as the next major driver of electricity demand, far beyond the current data-center buildout. The 21 startups are the firm’s way of preparing for that shift, signaling where it expects the most promising opportunities.
For the energy industry, the announcement is a marker that institutional investors are looking past the server-farm boom and toward a broader transformation of how power is produced and consumed.