Base Power, the home energy company co-founded by Zach Dell, plans to challenge costly gas-powered generators with residential battery systems. The three-year-old startup provides backup electricity during outages and uses stored power to support local grids during high demand.
The Austin company raised $1 billion in a Series D round, giving it a post-money valuation of $13 billion. Base plans to use the funding to expand manufacturing, enter more markets, and place its systems in more American homes.
Ribbit Capital, Addition, Valor Equity Partners, and JPMorgan Chase’s Strategic Investment Group led the Series D funding. Thrive Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Lightspeed, Trust Ventures, and CapitalG also joined as existing investors. The round takes Base Power’s total capital raised to $2.5 billion.
The financing follows a $1 billion Series C round in October 2025, when investors valued Base at $4 billion. The new money will fund equipment production, software, installation teams, and market entry. Base has not disclosed a timetable for using the full amount.
Zach Dell and Justin Lopas founded Base Power in 2023. Since then, the company has grown from one daily installation to more than 100. It now serves over 30,000 customers in Texas and Illinois. Michael Dell does not manage the business, though Zach Dell describes his father as a mentor.
Base owns and installs the batteries instead of selling the equipment directly to homeowners. Customers generally pay up to $695 for installation and a $19 monthly membership. In Illinois, the company has tested installation prices as low as $95 while entering the market.
By comparison, a whole-home generator can cost $15,000 or more and usually runs on natural gas or propane. Base says its system can supply backup electricity for two or three days, depending on household use. However, Base’s customer agreement says it cannot guarantee backup energy and advises against using it for life-critical devices.
The new Base Core battery stores 39.2 kilowatt-hours and can work alone or as part of a two-unit setup. Base says workers can install the system in under one hour. Production has started at its first Austin factory, which makes thousands of units each month.
“This battery is designed to be a grid resource,” Dell said. Base charges batteries when wholesale electricity prices fall. It then sends stored electricity to the grid when demand and prices rise. The company earns revenue through these power-market operations while customers receive outage protection.
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Base has deployed more than 500 megawatt-hours of battery capacity across its fleet. It also works with El Paso Electric, Austin Energy, and CoServ. Together, those utility partnerships cover more than 200 megawatts of capacity.
Meanwhile, the company is building a larger Austin-area factory for completion in 2027. Base plans to enter additional US states next year through retail electricity services or utility partnerships. Its first factory gives the company direct control over battery production after relying on outside suppliers.
“We want to bring Base to every neighborhood in America over time,” Dell said. He also named Britain, Germany, and Australia as possible overseas markets. Base has not announced launch dates for those countries.
Base cites rising electricity use in its expansion plans. US power demand reached a record in 2025 and keeps rising. AI data centers add further load, while utilities seek flexible storage to manage peak demand and outages.