Google, Nvidia, and Anthropic Join Emerald AI Coalition to Free Up 100 GW of Grid Capacity for Data Centers
Limiting data-center power use to 90% for a few hours could free up 76 GW of grid capacity, according to Goldman Sachs. Emerald AI’s software links utilities to facilities for rapid demand response; the startup recently raised $150M in Series A funding.
Grid software startup Emerald AI announced in September 2026 the formation of a new industry coalition aimed at unlocking 100 gigawatts of electrical grid capacity for data center expansion. The AI Energy Management Alliance (AEMA) counts Google, Nvidia, and Anthropic among its founding members, alongside utilities AES, Constellation, National Grid, and NRG Energy.
The coalition’s central strategy is demand response — a decades-old utility practice in which large electricity consumers temporarily reduce their usage during periods of peak grid demand. AEMA wants to apply this model to data centers, which could pause noncritical computing tasks or shift workloads to facilities in areas where the grid has available capacity. According to a Goldman Sachs study cited in the announcement, limiting maximum grid usage to 90% for a few hours at a time could free up as much as 76 gigawatts of capacity on its own.
Emerald AI’s software sits at the center of the approach, connecting utilities directly to data centers so facilities can respond to grid requests quickly. The startup recently closed a $150 million Series A round led by Energize Capital and DCVC. The company positions its software as an alternative to diesel backup generators, which data centers have traditionally used to participate in demand response programs.
Emerald AI is not alone in this space. Google has developed its own demand response tools, and Enel X offers a system that taps uninterruptible power supplies to shave peak demand.
Beyond demand response, AEMA also plans to help tech companies and utilities identify new data center sites. Ayse Coskun, Emerald AI’s chief scientist, told TechCrunch that the company’s technology could reduce the industry’s need for new power generation, though it would not eliminate that need entirely.