The trend for Silicon Valley startups applying advanced technologies to solve utility grid problems is clear: Go big or stay home.
After a decade of eking out a niche in the world of advanced distribution grid power controls, Silicon Valley startup Varentec has sold its key assets for an undisclosed sum. The buyer is Sentient Energy, another Silicon Valley power-line-sensor startup that was acquired last year by Koch Engineered Solutions, an arm of industrial conglomerate Koch Industries.
Varentec’s technology for sensing and altering voltages on low-voltage circuits will be folded into Sentient’s sensor and software suite, with the aim of creating a “comprehensive solutions provider for today’s increasingly complex distribution grid management needs,” Sentient CEO Bob Karschnia said in a Tuesday statement.