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Grid Discovery
Techstars '23Montclair, US · 1 employees on LinkedIn · 1 known investors
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Grid Discovery develops renewable energy solutions for local power generation and distribution in the United States. The company focuses on bridging power delivery gaps by producing energy at the point of consumption.
Also known as Grid Kids
Founders & leadership
Investors · 1
How we know: the Techstars portfolio · open dataset · Top 3000 Accelerator Startups (no YC) 2026-08 · Not right? Tell us
Company profile
researched Sep 2026Grid Discovery is an energy data company that provides building-level electricity interval data and analysis to teams developing distributed energy projects. Its core offering matches a customer's building against profiles from the ComStock and ResStock building-stock datasets to produce simulation-grade load profiles at 15-minute resolution, usable before utility meter or interval data is available. The intake process asks a customer to submit basic information about a building; Grid Discovery analyzes it, pairs it with comparable utility-grade interval data, and delivers a report that it walks the customer through.
The reports are positioned for three main analytical uses: sizing on-site generation and storage so batteries or back-up generators are not oversized to cover a small share of extreme usage hours; quantifying peak-shaving potential and identifying when peaks occur seasonally in relation to demand charges; and analyzing equipment-level usage patterns to find reduction and retrofit opportunities beyond lighting, such as rooftop units running overnight or on weekends. Earlier site material also describes support for modeling microgrids, optimizing generators and validating retrofits without a site visit, and references a forthcoming beta release of cluster modeling.
The company states a mission of powering "main street America" with cheap, renewable energy. In connection with a university competition project, Grid Discovery is described as aiming to make microgrid project analysis accessible, easy and efficient by aggregating key data points into an interface providing guided analysis, recommendations and alerts, including a web tool with a guided tutorial for self-service project analysis.
Founding story
Cofounder Matt Cristaldi traces the company's origins to his 2009 deployment to Afghanistan with the 101st Airborne Division, where his unit depended on Afghan fuel trucks and experienced fuel shortages. After his Army service he focused his career on electrical reliability and on producing energy where it is consumed. He cofounded the company with Philip Odonkor, PhD, an assistant professor in the School of Systems and Enterprises at Stevens Institute of Technology with more than ten years of research experience in smart cities and energy optimization and publications on data-driven design of distributed energy systems.
Business model
Grid Discovery collects a small amount of information about a customer's building, matches it to comparable utility-grade interval load profiles drawn from the ComStock and ResStock datasets, and delivers an analytical report plus a walkthrough of the insights. Site material also references a planned beta release of cluster modeling and a self-service web tool with a guided tutorial for project analysis.
Traction
Company news references include the Techstars Alabama EnergyTech Accelerator fall 2023 class, a CSIT award program distributing $3M to 41 New Jersey-based start-ups, and a Bonus Prize Finalist placement at the EnergyTech UP New York City Metro competition in February 2023.
Latest developments
Site material promotes an upcoming beta release of the company's cluster modeling capability, with a sign-up for early access.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography
Market position
Grid Discovery participated in the Techstars Alabama EnergyTech Accelerator's fall 2023 class and has been recognized through the U.S. Department of Energy's EnergyTech University Prize and a New Jersey Commission on Science, Innovation and Technology startup award program.
Rather than relying on utility bills, which the company describes as frequently missing, unreadable or unable to reveal the timing and duration of peak events, Grid Discovery supplies interval-matched profiles that let a project be simulated before utility interval data is gathered, and without a site visit.
Technology
The product is built on the ComStock and ResStock building-stock datasets, which are used to generate simulation-grade load profiles at 15-minute intervals modeled after real buildings. Matching a subject building to comparable profiles gives visibility into how fast, how often and how long peak loads occur, supporting time-series analysis for asset sizing. The company also references proprietary cluster modeling in beta.
Go-to-market
Developers and analysts of building energy projects — teams sizing microgrids, batteries and back-up generators, evaluating peak shaving against demand charges, and validating equipment retrofits — who lack access to utility interval data for the buildings they are assessing.
Geography
The company is based in Montclair, New Jersey area operations tied to New Jersey and Hoboken, with accelerator participation in Alabama and competition activity in the New York City metro area; its stated market focus is the United States grid.
Compiled by commissioned research from 7 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 2
launches, deals, and filingsA Stevens Institute of Technology student team known as the "Grid Kids," working with Grid Discovery under Dr. Philip Odonkor and Matthew Cristaldi, was named a Bonus Prize Finalist in the Grid Enhancing Technologies category at the Feb. 17 New York City Metro Area competition of the American-Made EnergyTech University Prize, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Technology Transitions.
Company news links reference the announcement of the Techstars Alabama EnergyTech Accelerator fall class of 2023 and the accelerator's fourth class of startups.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
▸Research sources · 7
primary sources listed
- Grid Discoverygriddiscovery.com · web
7 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Grid Discovery do?
- Grid Discovery supplies simulation-grade 15-minute building interval energy data for microgrid, battery and retrofit project analysis.
- Who founded Grid Discovery?
- Grid Discovery was founded by Matt Cristaldi, Philip Odonkor.
- Who are Grid Discovery's investors?
- Grid Discovery's investors include Techstars.
- Where is Grid Discovery headquartered?
- Grid Discovery is headquartered in Montclair, US.