Plentify, the pioneering South African electrotech company, using AI-fueled hardware and software to connect home appliances to cheaper, cleaner energy, has raised an oversubscribed Series A funding round, bringing its total capital raised to date to nearly $15 million. The raise marks a major milestone in Plentify’s journey from rapid early-stage growth to global expansion, reinforcing investor confidence in its team, technology, and strategy at a time when venture capital funding in the climate tech sector remains highly competitive.
The round was led by Secha Capital, Buffet Investments, and a South African family office, with participation from existing investors E3 Capital and Fireball Capital, and new backers Endeavor South Africa’s Harvest Fund and Satgana. “This round reflects both the confidence of our long-term supporters and the belief of new partners who share our vision,” says Jon Kornik, CEO and co-founder of Plentify. “It’s validation that what we’ve built in South Africa has global relevance and that our approach to intelligent energy management is resonating with investors around the world.”
The rise of South African electrotech
Plentify’s growth has been shaped by one of the world’s fastest energy transitions. According to Kailas Nair, Plentify’s Chief Growth Officer and co-founder, South Africa is the ideal testing ground for scalable, subsidy-free innovation. “Chronic load-shedding and rising electricity tariffs created a rooftop-solar boom among middle-income households, at penetration levels similar to advanced markets, but without subsidies or feed-in tariffs. That forced us to make load management work from day one. Now, as other markets reduce or remove solar subsidies, we have the technology and know-how to help them do the same.”
“The future of energy isn’t far away, Plentify just sees it first. In a sector often filled with moonshots, they’re solving a practical, immediate problem: making the energy we already produce work smarter,” adds Brendan Mullen, Managing Director at Secha Capital.
By connecting everyday appliances such as water heaters, batteries, and solar inverters, Plentify’s technology enables them to draw power when it’s cheapest and cleanest, helping households across South Africa cut costs, strengthen the grid, and maximise the value of renewable energy.
Investors back a proven model built in South Africa
Plentify’s performance has turned South Africa’s energy crisis into proof of concept. Since its previous fundraising round in 2023, the company’s deployments have grown more than tenfold, evidence, says Kornik, “that the market genuinely wants what we’ve built.”
Vova Dugin, Managing Partner at E3 Capital, agrees, “South Africa’s energy challenges created the perfect incubation ground for Plentify’s AI-led solutions. The team has built products capable of deployment in any market where energy needs and grid capacity are under strain.”
Kornik adds that investor confidence stems from three key factors: traction, team, and strategy. “We’ve come off phenomenal growth and built an incredible team, including professionals who have led at Google, J.P. Morgan, Tesla Energy, IBM Research, Discovery Vitality and NASA, and proven they can deliver real impact together.
“Plentify’s founders exemplify the type of ambitious, growth-minded entrepreneurs we aim to back,” says Antonia Bothner, Capital Markets Lead for Endeavor SA’s Harvest Fund. “The team has built a business where local innovation meets global demand, pairing world-class technical expertise with a clear sense of purpose at the heart of the clean-energy transition.”
Plentify is already preparing pilot projects in the United Kingdom, Australia and Brazil. “Success means helping millions of households reduce their energy bills while enabling a more reliable energy system,” adds Nair. “The problem regarding the mismatch between when clean energy is produced and when it’s needed, is universal, and so is our solution.”
A massive virtual power plant with close to 100 MWh under management
Plentify’s AI-powered home-energy management system is already being deployed by leading partners including:
- Balwin Properties, improving solar yield and delivering cheaper, cleaner power to residents;
- Conlog, South Africa’s largest metering company, which uses Plentify’s load-management solution to help municipalities cut costs and improve service delivery; and
- Wetility, a solar technology company integrating Plentify’s platform to deliver top-performing residential solar systems.
Together these deployments form what Kornik calls “a massive virtual power plant, with close to 100 MWh of water heaters and batteries under management.” To date, this smart network has saved 9.9 GWh of electricity and helped South African households save more than R40 million on their energy bills.
A more resilient and equitable energy future
Romain Diaz, Founder and CEO of Satgana, says Plentify represents how African innovation can drive global decarbonisation. “Plentify stood out for its mix of innovative technology, scalable business model and clear path to climate impact. It’s proof that African climate solutions can scale globally.”
“What gives me confidence in Plentify is the team’s commercial acumen, technical excellence and incredible resilience,” says Paula Mokwena, CEO of Fireball Capital. “They’ve proven their ability to scale a locally developed solution globally while creating measurable impact. The results from real-world deployments demonstrate the intelligence of their platform and its capacity to optimise energy use and deliver tangible value for customers.”
Kornik concludes, “We see a future where every home can generate, store, and intelligently manage clean energy. By connecting these homes, we can build the foundation for a more resilient and equitable energy future, not just for South Africa, but for the world.”
