Boldr Raises $5M to Build the Contractor Network Behind America's Next Energy Source

Boldr (Techstars 2022), an energy management company building technology that turns equipment inside homes into flexible energy assets, announced a $5M Pre-Series A round.

The U.S. needs more electricity, and more flexibility, fast. Electrification, extreme weather, electric vehicles, and AI-driven data centers are pushing demand higher, while building new power plants, transmission lines, and other centralized infrastructure can take decades.

Boldr believes part of the answer is already sitting inside millions of homes. Heating and cooling systems, batteries, EV chargers, solar, and other connected devices can collectively become a massive source of flexible energy capacity. But connecting millions of individual assets to the grid takes more than software. It takes the people who install and service them, which is why Boldr is starting with HVAC contractors.

"The next power plant won't be one building. It will be millions of homes working together," said Madi Ablyazov, CEO and co-founder of Boldr. "But you don't get there through a consumer app alone. You get there through the contractors who already install, service and replace the equipment that controls energy inside the home. Our job is to give them the technology to make that future possible."

HVAC is Boldr's starting point because heating and cooling is one of the largest sources of energy demand in the home, and the biggest residential energy market in the United States. Contractors are already inside millions of homes installing, maintaining, and replacing these systems. As homes add batteries, EV chargers, solar, and other electrified equipment, Boldr believes those same contractors will become the deployment and service layer for a much more distributed energy grid, and it's building its products around them.

Boldr's smart thermostats and connected controls are designed to be quick to install, flexible, and compatible with a wide range of heating and cooling systems. Its software platform gives contractors visibility across the equipment they've installed, helping them reduce service costs, catch problems earlier, grow maintenance revenue, and stay connected to customers over the lifetime of the home. For contractors, that means a stronger business. For homeowners, it means better service and lower energy costs. And for the grid, every connected system becomes another potential source of flexible capacity.

This contractor-first model also gives Boldr a direct path to scale. The company has secured nationwide distribution partnerships with major HVAC brands and supply houses, including Source 1 (owned by Bosch) and Daikin, giving it access to contractor networks across the United States through channels they already use.

The new funding will support Boldr's expansion from ductless HVAC controls into residential and light commercial central HVAC, accelerate product development, grow contractor partnerships and distribution, and scale the company's contractor platform across North America.

Over time, Boldr plans to go far beyond thermostats. Its ambition is to become the operating layer connecting the energy assets inside millions of homes, from HVAC systems to batteries, EV chargers, solar, and whatever comes next. Instead of relying only on new centralized infrastructure to meet every spike in electricity demand, grid operators could call on thousands or millions of connected homes to reduce, shift, or manage demand together.

"Boldr is attacking one of the most important infrastructure challenges of the next decade: how to add flexible capacity to the grid quickly, affordably and at massive scale," said Alexis Horowitz-Burdick, Partner at Unconventional Ventures. "The team has identified HVAC contractors as a critical partner in the electrification of the home. By building technology that helps contractors serve customers better while creating a path to distributed grid capacity, Boldr is positioned to become a defining company in residential energy management."

With this round, Boldr is focused on scaling nationwide, growing contractor adoption, expanding distribution, and establishing a significant position in the U.S. HVAC market. The long-term vision hasn't changed. Boldr wants to build the platform that can eventually connect millions of residential energy assets into a flexible energy network.

Learn more about Boldr at https://shopboldr.com/.