The exact size of the raise was not disclosed, but it brings the company’s total financing to approximately $15 million.

Founded in 2017 by CEO Jon Kornik and Chief Growth Officer Kailas Nair, Plentify develops hardware and software systems that link domestic appliances, such as water heaters, solar inverters and batteries into an artificial-intelligence-driven platform.

The system optimises when those appliances draw electricity, shifting usage to times when clean energy is abundant or tariffs are lower.

This creates a kind of virtual power-plant effect and reduces strain on fragile grids. Plentify’s home market of South Africa has provided a challenging proving ground.

With chronic load-shedding, rising tariffs and booming rooftop-solar uptake (private rooftop capacity in the country has now surpassed major independent power-producer capacity), the company has been able to stress-test its model without depending on subsidies.

“South Africa forced us to solve real problems immediately,” says Nair, pointing out that the subsidy-free environment forced the startup to innovate in practical, scalable ways.

In South Africa, Plentify operates via strategic partnerships with major property developers and energy-service firms, for example, Balwin Properties, Conlog and Wetility.

Through these collaborations, it remotely manages nearly 100 MWh of controllable loads (water-heaters and batteries), and to date has avoided about 9.9 GWh of electricity consumption, helping households save more than R40 million (~US $2.4 million) in energy costs.

With the new funding secured, Plentify is now moving beyond South Africa and preparing pilot deployments in the United Kingdom, Australia and Brazil, all regions grappling with grid congestion, renewable-integration challenges and instabilities in the timing of supply and demand.

According to Kornik, the model developed in South Africa has “global relevance.”

Investors in the round include African and international backers: Secha Capital, Buffet Investments, E3 Capital, Fireball Capital, the Harvest Fund under Endeavor SA, Satgana and a number of family offices.

E3 Capital’s managing partner Vova Dugin described South Africa as “the perfect incubation ground” for technology that can address grid stress in markets around the world.

Plentify says its business offers a compelling value proposition: shifting load,  rather than only adding generation or storage, can cost significantly less than deploying batteries.

In markets where subsidies are falling away and grid stress is rising, the company believes its model will be increasingly attractive.