Octopus Energy Launches Kraken: AI-Powered Billing Platform
▼ Summary
– Octopus Energy is spinning off its Kraken tech platform, driven by $500 million in annual revenue from external utilities and energy providers.
– Kraken could be valued at $15 billion in a potential IPO, which might occur within the next year.
– Octopus Energy, founded in 2015, has grown to become the UK’s largest energy provider, serving over 7.7 million UK households and 2.8 million elsewhere.
– The spinoff aims to minimize conflicts of interest as Kraken expands its deals with utilities and providers not affiliated with Octopus.
– Kraken uses AI to manage renewable energy integration and offers utilities a system for power sourcing and customer management, including billing and meter operations.
Octopus Energy, a major British renewable energy supplier, has announced the spin-off of its proprietary technology platform, Kraken. This strategic move follows the platform’s impressive growth, with $500 million in committed annual revenue already secured from external utility and energy providers. The decision to separate Kraken reflects both its market success and the company’s ambition to expand its technological influence across the global energy sector.
Industry analysts, including those cited by The Wall Street Journal, suggest that an initial public offering for Kraken could materialize within the next year, potentially valuing the platform at an estimated $15 billion. Originally developed as the foundational product for Octopus Energy, Kraken has evolved into a sophisticated system now serving millions of customers worldwide. Greg Jackson, CEO of Octopus, previously described the energy company as the “demo client” for the platform, a demo that now powers more than 7.7 million UK households and an additional 2.8 million internationally.
The spin-off is intended to eliminate potential conflicts of interest as Kraken continues to form partnerships with energy providers outside the Octopus network. This separation, which was set in motion last year, allows the platform to operate with greater autonomy while continuing to leverage its advanced technological capabilities.
Since its founding in 2015, Octopus Energy has experienced remarkable growth, surpassing British Gas to become the UK’s largest energy supplier in less than a decade. A significant part of this expansion can be attributed to the company’s innovative customer engagement strategies. Initiatives like Zero Bills, which offers a decade of free energy to homeowners in fully electrified properties, and the Agile tariff, which incentivizes consumers to use electricity during off-peak hours, sometimes even for free, have driven both acquisition and retention.
These programs have generated vast amounts of data, which Kraken’s integrated AI models analyze to optimize the integration of renewable energy into the grid. For utility companies, Kraken offers a comprehensive suite of tools, enabling real-time management of diverse power sources, including renewables, solar, and distributed energy resources like EV chargers and home batteries. The platform also provides an end-to-end customer management system, handling everything from billing and meter operations to customer support, making it a versatile solution for modern energy providers.
(Source: TechCrunch)
