Europe’s grid is getting a new kind of power plant: connected thermostats.
London-based Boldr has raised €4.2 million ($5 million) in a pre-Series A to push that idea further, expanding its smart climate hardware into North America, building out software for HVAC contractors, and covering more residential and commercial systems.
The pre-Series A was led by Unconventional Ventures, with PropelX, Prosegur, Techstars, the S20 Fund, the Inclimo Climate Tech Fund, Roxbury Asset Management, Davidovs Venture Collective, Tetrad Ventures, and Ada Ventures also in the mix.
“We want millions of homes to work together as one power plant,” said Madi Ablyazov, co-founder and chief executive. He argues the route there runs through the contractors who install and service the equipment that controls home energy, which is why Boldr’s platform targets them directly rather than consumers alone.
The startup’s thesis is that flexible grid capacity can be added quickly and cheaply by turning heating and cooling systems into coordinated resources. The round follows an oversubscribed €2.7 million seed in 2025, and lands as European investors pour money into building energy management and grid flexibility startups.
