The key facts

  • AI data centers are sharply increasing the load on the US power grid; critics warn of higher bills and the risk of outages
  • WeaveGrid offers load-management software, while Veir builds superconducting lines that carry energy 5 times farther with 20 times less footprint
  • Veir raised $110 million in a Series C round in October 2026

Grid load as a stress test

The artificial intelligence boom has driven a huge increase in electricity demand in the United States. Critics call the wave of new connections a stress test for the aging grid infrastructure: in their view, in the short term the energy shortfall could lead to higher electricity bills, and in the long term to outages and technical problems. TechCrunch reports this, citing both its own earlier coverage of the load on the country's largest power grid.

The discussion at TechCrunch Disrupt

At the TechCrunch Disrupt conference in early October 2026, industry experts countered part of this criticism with optimism: in their view, the flow of new connections opens a path to modernizing the grid. Speaking were Apurv Bhargava, founder and CEO of WeaveGrid; Tim Heidel, CEO of Veir; and Kristin Eberhard, vice president of policy at Rewiring America.

Software and hardware solutions

Bhargava noted that the grid now has to handle many new variables — from renewable energy to electric vehicles, data centers and heat pumps — and that utilities' main task is managing and orchestrating load. His company develops software that helps distribute energy efficiently and optimize connections, lowering customers' bills. Heidel, for his part, works on physical infrastructure: Veir sells superconducting transmission lines that, according to the company, carry energy five times farther than conventional cables while taking up 20 times less space. In early October the startup raised $110 million in a Series C round.

An era of improvisation

Heidel said that the scale of investment in AI infrastructure is fueling mass innovation and that new technologies coming to market could make data centers 'better neighbors to the community.' Eberhard, whose organization advocates for the electrification of households, added that the growth in demand from data centers has lent urgency to grid modernization and created an environment where the industry is ready to try new things: 'This is a very improvisational era of AI and load growth,' she said, noting that new transmission lines, new power plants, and the use of previously untapped opportunities are all needed.