PowerLabs, a Nigerian energy and climate technology startup, has successfully raised pre-seed funding in a round led by venture firm Breega, with participation from Catalyst Fund, Mercy Corps Ventures, and Kaleo Ventures.
The capital will be deployed to scale Pai, its core artificial intelligence-driven platform designed to help businesses manage Nigeria’s unreliable power supply more efficiently and cost-effectively.
Nigeria’s electricity sector remains plagued by deep structural challenges. Grid-connected users receive an average of only 6.6 hours of power per day, forcing many businesses to rely heavily on expensive diesel generators.
This dependence results in significant economic losses estimated in billions of dollars annually due to high fuel costs, maintenance expenses, and lost productivity.
How Pai Addresses Energy Inefficiencies
Pai is an intelligent energy management platform that connects to various power sources and devices to deliver actionable insights and automation. Its main capabilities include:
- Real-Time Visibility and Analytics: The platform analyses historical and real-time energy data to provide clear visibility into power usage patterns, costs, and inefficiencies.
- Predictive Forecasting: Advanced AI models forecast energy costs and demand, enabling businesses to plan more effectively and avoid unexpected expenses.
- Automated Source Switching: Pai can intelligently automate the switching between multiple power sources, including the national grid, diesel generators, and solar systems, to ensure continuous operations while minimising costs.
- Investment Guidance: The system identifies opportunities for smarter energy investments, such as optimal solar or battery storage deployments, based on actual consumption data.
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By transforming fragmented and reactive energy management into a data-driven, proactive process, Pai helps businesses reduce operational costs, improve reliability, and lower their environmental footprint through more efficient use of diesel and greater integration of renewable sources.
Strategic Significance of the Funding
The pre-seed round reflects growing investor interest in climate tech and energy management solutions that tackle Nigeria’s chronic power deficits through intelligent, scalable tools.
The funding will support product development, team expansion, and broader market rollout, with a focus on serving small and medium-sized enterprises that are most affected by unreliable electricity.
This investment also aligns with Nigeria’s wider energy transition goals and the increasing demand for innovative solutions that bridge the gap between unreliable grid supply and the need for stable, affordable power for business operations.
PowerLabs Overview
PowerLabs is an energy-AI company building software that helps businesses manage multiple power sources such as grid, solar, generators, and batteries using intelligent orchestration. It recently raised a pre-seed funding round to scale its AI energy platform across Nigeria and West Africa.
PowerLabs Technologies / PowerLabs Inc.
PowerLabs Inc. is headquartered in Lagos and focuses on building “intelligent and personalised energy consumer applications” to reduce cost and improve uptime across hybrid energy systems.
PowerLabs.io (PowerLabs platform)
The company’s core product (often referenced via powerlabs.io) is an AI-enabled energy orchestration system called Pai Enterprise, which coordinates solar, diesel, grid, and battery systems in real time.
PowerLabs Nigeria
The startup was founded in 2023 and targets commercial and industrial customers dealing with unreliable electricity.
Its technology forecasts energy usage, switches between sources automatically, and optimises cost and reliability.
