Gabriel

interested in interesting stuff

@basepowerco

[Nick Gray @nickgraynews]

I just had a huge home battery installed at my house in Austin, Texas

Now if the power goes out from a storm or the grid flickers my house never goes offline

It is a $15,000 device with a 40 kWh battery that gives whole-house power for up to 36 hours

But I only had to pay $695 due to a unique arbitrage opportunity

Base Power is a new American energy company founded by Zach Dell and Justin Lopas from Tesla and Anduril

This company usually makes money by installing the battery and then doing arbitrage on the electricity: they charge the battery at night when off-peak electricity rates are less expensive and then sell back that power to the grid at peak times. You can do this in Dallas and Houston areas now in Texas

But I’m in Austin, Texas and Austin Energy actually pays Base for dispatchable capacity. So Base makes money on the utility contract, sort of like a virtual power plant, and they can give me the battery for cheap

My electricity bill isn’t any less. I just get a huge backup battery for my house for way less than I’d pay for an old-fashioned gas generator

I bought this for peace of mind because I still have PTSD from the Texas ice storm in 2021 when we lost power for so many days. That sucked haha

In my mind it was either pay many thousands of dollars for a gas or diesel generator, or do Tesla solar (much more expensive but more benefits)

I did not even consider a battery backup because they are so expensive and the installation costs

But this was a no-brainer to do the Base Power thing for $695 plus they charge some $19 per month maintenance fee

If you ever want to stop they charge you $500 to remove it but there’s not really a contract otherwise

I hope they expand to more areas. For now I think it is mostly only in Texas. I’ll post my referral link below if you want to sign up and get $150 off

My neighbor works at Base and that’s how I heard about it

[nathan 📍 ATX @ngmxyz]

let’s ride

[Packy McCormick @packyM]

Last week, Base Power Company announced that it had raised $1B at $13B and launched Base Core.

The perfect opportunity to write Chapter 3 of the Book of Base.

This one is about bringing manufacturing in-house, capturing the High Ground, building a Capability Cannon, aiming it at new geographies and customer types, and where it might aim next.

There are only two companies I've written multiple Deep Dives on: Ramp and Base. I plan to write a Chapter every year until IPO, and then turn it into a book.

The ambition grows each time I come back, and now it's about as big as it gets. Base wants to become the world's largest energy company.

"Because if we are the best energy technology company, and energy is going through this kind of once in a generation demand inflection as the result of AI, the company who does this should become the world’s largest energy company and perhaps the world’s largest company," Zach told me. "But we'll see."

[Gabriel @gabewoot]

@brad_or_bradley 👀

[Zach Dell @ZachBDell]

Today, we're launching Base Core, our own battery designed & built in Texas, and announcing our $1B Series D to bring it to homes across the country.

Three years ago, we started Base with a belief that batteries were the unlock to energy abundance. We saw battery storage as the foundation of a modern energy system, and believed we could win the market with vertical integration, technology, and relentless execution (what we now call Base Pace). So we set out to build a network of distributed batteries to deliver affordable, reliable electricity to homeowners and utilities.

While the job is far from finished, the launch of Base Core is the most meaningful step in that plan. We’ve spent the last few years learning hard lessons about building a distributed battery fleet, going from 1 install per day in June of ‘24 to 100 installs per day in June of ‘26. These lessons - how the battery is shipped, installed, used, and monitored - informed the design of Core. Now, Core will be the foundation of the company's next phase of growth.

Base Core is a first-of-its-kind home battery. At ~40 kWh it is 3x the size of most home batteries, providing up to 36 hours of backup for the average home. In the event of multi-day outage, Core is equipped with a (first of its kind) generator port - pull out a small portable generator and charge the battery back up to keep your home running as long as you need. When an outage does happen, the backup is seamless - most members won't even notice the grid went down. It's built to withstand Texas summers, Chicago Winters, and everything in between. And finally, it’s manufactured by our team in Austin, at Base Factory 1, right across the street from our HQ.

This new capital will bring Core to more homes and to accelerate our ambition beyond batteries. The round is co-led by Ribbit, Addition, Valor, and JP Morgan, with participation from new major investors D1, Sands, Coatue, Layer Global, and Energy Impact Partners. All of Base’s major existing investors are re-investing, including Thrive, Altimeter, Lightspeed, a16z, CapitalG, Trust, and more. This brings our valuation to $13B.

As we enter the most important growth period in the history of the electricity industry, our mission has not changed - advance human prosperity by delivering the world's most affordable and reliable electricity. Our strategy has not changed - technology, plus vertical integration, plus relentless execution, leads to a compounding cost advantage. What has changed is the scope of our ambition - this new capital, along with the team and capabilities we've built over the last three years, positions us to build technology across the electric stack, including what it takes to serve surging demand from AI, and to deepen our partnerships with utilities as they work to meet rising demands.

Electricity is the largest and most essential industry in the world, and it does not have a defining technology company. The company that delivers the most affordable, reliable power will be one of the largest and most impactful companies in the world. We intend to build it. If you'd like to join us, reach out.

Onwards.

https://t.co/Qp3F9rPtLa.

[Base Power @basepowerco]

Born in Austin. Built in Austin. Now serving Austin.

In partnership with Austin Energy, Base is now bringing whole-home backup to our hometown for a fraction of the cost.

See if your home qualifies at https://t.co/ZXATDMaoJl

[Gabriel @gabewoot]

@ZachBDell @austinenergy 🥹

[JD Ross @justindross]

America’s Power Company dropped some great mail @basepowerco

[Base Power @basepowerco]

Houston, we brought backup.

Base is now available in the City of Houston with the only energy plan with a whole-home battery included.

No solar required. Backup power for a fraction of the cost. Lower bills every month.

[Base Power @basepowerco]

Base is officially available in Dallas.

As of today, we serve the entire Dallas–Fort Worth Metro. If you’re one of the millions of homeowners in the Metroplex—from Plano to Coppell to Benbrook—you can now switch to Base.

[Base Power @basepowerco]

Big trucks. Bigger backup. Dallas, we’re headed your way…

[Michael Dell 🇺🇸 @MichaelDell]

As we say in Texas... You're going to need a bigger truck 🚀🤠 @basepowerco

[Gabriel @gabewoot]

@JLopas Can we get the salty drinks back?

[Packy McCormick @packyM]

Base Power Company is one of the special ones.

I believe batteries + software are the most valuable layer in the US electric stack, and that Base can win that layer. Call it the Base layer.

1,000+ batteries. $200M. Violent execution.

This is Chapter 2 in their story:

[Zach Dell @ZachBDell]

Today, we announced a $200M round led by Addition, @a16z, @lightspeedvp, and Valor, with participation from existing investors @ThriveCapital, Altimeter, Trust Ventures, and @terraincap.

Addition founder Lee Fixel will join our board alongside Antonio Gracias of Valor.

[Base Power @basepowerco]

We’re excited to announce that Base Power has raised $200M in Series B funding, co-led by Addition, @a16z, @lightspeedvp, and Valor, with support from @ThriveCapital, Altimeter, Trust Ventures, and @terraincap.

Addition’s Lee Fixel joins our board alongside Antonio Gracias of Valor Equity Partners.

[Gabriel @gabewoot]

@basepowerco @NBAonTNT

[Gabriel @gabewoot]

@basepowerco #NBAonTNT

[Gabriel @gabewoot]

@basepowerco @BillSimmons you might like this

[Gabriel @gabewoot]

@basepowerco @WorldWideWob this gets the people going before Mavs vs Lakers tonight