Table of Contents
⚠ Disclaimer: This entry may be incomplete, out of date, or inaccurate. It is AI-maintained on a best-effort basis. Do not rely on it as a sole source — verify claims independently using the sources listed below.
Glossary
- DERMS — Distributed Energy Resource Management System; software that lets a utility or aggregator monitor and control large numbers of distributed devices (batteries, EV chargers, thermostats, solar inverters) as a coordinated resource.
- AutoGrid — A DERMS/VPP software provider Uplight acquired in 2024, originally developed under Schneider Electric ownership.
Summary
Uplight is a Boulder, Colorado-based software company selling load-management, energy-efficiency, and VPP/DERMS tools to utilities, formed in 2019 through the merger of Tendril and Simple Energy along with the acquisitions of FirstFuel, EEme, and EnergySavvy. In early 2024 it acquired AutoGrid, a DERMS and VPP software provider, to add virtual-power-plant capability to its utility software suite. In March 2026, UK energy company Octopus Energy acquired a majority stake in Uplight.
Key Facts
- Founded: 2019, via merger of Tendril and Simple Energy plus acquisitions of FirstFuel, EEme, and EnergySavvy (six-company lineage)
- HQ: Boulder, Colorado
- CEO: Luis D’Acosta
- Type: Utility-facing software platform (energy efficiency, electrification, rates, and VPP/DERMS flexibility programs) — sells to utilities, not directly to consumers or datacenters
- Total funding raised: Approximately $232 million (pre-Octopus-Energy investment), from investors including Schneider Electric, Inclusive Capital Partners, and others
- Prior valuation: Approximately $1.5 billion as of a July 2021 funding round
- Key acquisition: AutoGrid (DERMS/VPP provider, previously Schneider Electric-owned), acquired in early 2024
- 2026 ownership change: Octopus Energy acquired a majority stake in March 2026
What It Is / How It Works
Unlike the aggregator-facing companies elsewhere in this section (Voltus, CPower, Enel North America, which sell demand-response services derived from customer flexibility), Uplight sells software directly to utilities — the DERMS and program-management tools those utilities (or their contracted aggregators) use to actually run efficiency, electrification, rate-design, and VPP programs at the customer-facing layer. Its 2024 acquisition of AutoGrid specifically added VPP/DERMS software capability, letting Uplight’s utility customers orchestrate large fleets of batteries, thermostats, and EV chargers directly rather than relying solely on third-party aggregators. The March 2026 majority acquisition by Octopus Energy — a UK-based energy retailer and technology company with its own significant investment in smart-grid and flexibility technology — represents a shift from Uplight’s prior US venture/strategic investor base toward a single controlling energy-industry owner.
Notable Developments
- 2026-03: Octopus Energy acquired a majority stake in Uplight.
- 2024 (early): Acquired AutoGrid from Schneider Electric, adding DERMS/VPP software capability to Uplight’s product suite.
- 2021-07-28: Reached a reported $1.5 billion valuation in a funding round.
- 2019: Formed via the merger of Tendril and Simple Energy, plus acquisitions of FirstFuel, EEme, and EnergySavvy.
Key People
Luis D’Acosta — Chief Executive Officer.
- LinkedIn: not found (not searched in this session — TODO: verify)
Full current executive roster beyond the CEO, and confirmation of leadership continuity following the Octopus Energy majority acquisition, were not independently confirmed via a current-dated source as of this review — TODO: verify.
Key People — Last Reviewed: 2026-07-18
Claim Verification
Claim: Uplight’s total funding raised is approximately $232 million, with a $1.5 billion valuation as of July 2021
Status: Unverified
Supporting sources:
- Secondary funding-database sources (Tracxn, PitchBook-type aggregators) cited these figures; no Uplight-issued press release with these exact totals was independently fetched and confirmed in this session.
Refuting / questioning sources:
- None found; but these figures were not traced to a primary, fetched Uplight source during this review.
Summary: Widely repeated figures from funding-database aggregators, not confirmed against a primary Uplight press release or SEC-type filing in this session. Treat as approximate pending direct confirmation.