Ann Arbor, Michigan, Feb. 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Utilidata, a pioneer in embedded AI for power infrastructure backed by NVIDIA, announced the opening of a new innovation lab that will also serve as its headquarters in Ann Arbor, Michigan, a region known as an epicenter for ingenuity and technology advancement. The new space will serve as the company’s primary hub for testing, product development, and collaboration with partners across the technology, AI, and energy sectors.

Utilidata has developed a power management platform called Karman to enhance the efficiency and performance of power infrastructure, from the electrical grid to data centers. The lab’s main focus will be testing Karman in data center servers to address growing power demands.

Below we share a question and answer set with guest Josh Brumberger, Chief Executive Officer of Utilidata, who has a proven track record of success spanning the public and private sectors.

Remind the Michigan business community about Utilidata, and highlights from the last 18 months for the company?

Utilidata is bringing AI directly into power infrastructure. Working with NVIDIA, we’ve built one of the smallest AI computing modules, called Karman, that can be embedded inside compact electrical devices. Karman delivers ultra-fast power visibility, predictability, and control that power operators have never had access to before to increase efficiency and better manage power demand.

We’ve been using AI to optimize power grid operations for over a decade. Our work in Michigan has predominantly focused on innovation for the utility grid. We partnered with the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) to use Karman to monitor and analyze the impacts of electric vehicle charging. That work helped demonstrate how real-time data can support grid reliability and enable utilities to better manage demands from increasing electrification.

Over the past year, data centers have grown quickly and raised new concerns about power demand. Our focus has shifted to helping data centers solve their energy challenges with real-time visibility and control.

From a growth and competitiveness standpoint, what made Ann Arbor the right location for Utilidata’s headquarters and innovation lab, and how does Michigan’s tech ecosystem support your long-term strategy?

Ann Arbor turned into an obvious home for Utildiata. Some of our earliest partners came from the University of Michigan, and the first team to develop what is now our Karman platform was made up largely of U-M engineers. That led us to partner with organizations like UMTRI to apply early versions of Karman and open our first innovation lab in Ann Arbor’s Northern Brewery building.

Between the university and Michigan’s automotive industry, Ann Arbor provides an incredible concentration of talent with a unique blend of mechanical, electrical and technology expertise. That combination is exactly what we’re looking for. We’re excited to continue growing our team and strengthening our collaboration with local partners and research institutions.

How does the Karman platform change the business economics of data centers and utilities by unlocking existing power capacity rather than requiring new infrastructure investment?

Both data centers and the distribution grid are built for worst-case scenarios. As a result, they typically operate at only 30–50% of their allocated capacity, which leads to overbuilding, underutilization, and wasted resources.

Karman addresses that inefficiency directly. At its core, it’s a small, AI-enabled computer embedded into power infrastructure that provides real-time visibility and control, not just monitoring. With that kind of insight, operators can make smarter and more local decisions about how power is used.

In data centers, that means unlocking stranded capacity. We’ve found that with real-time insight into power flow, operators can safely run up to 50% more compute on the same provisioned power. Instead of immediately asking utilities for more capacity or building new facilities, operators can maximize the value of what’s already been built – running more AI workloads with what they already have.

With support from MEDC and partners like NVIDIA and the University of Michigan, how do public-private collaborations accelerate Utilidata’s commercialization and job creation plans in Michigan?

Public-private collaboration has played such an important role in helping us scale. This move to Ann Arbor is supported by a $250,000 grant through the Michigan Business Development Program (MBDP), administered by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC). It shows that Michigan is serious about supporting companies that are building innovative technologies and creating quality technology jobs for the state. We’re very appreciative.

Today our lab represents about 25% of Utilidata’s workforce, and we expect to create 25 new full-time jobs as we continue to grow over the next few years. Working alongside partners like NVIDIA and the University of Michigan means we’re able to pull from some of the best technical minds in the field.

We were first introduced to NVIDIA in 2021 as they were seeking ways to tackle energy demand challenges on the grid. We partnered to customize their smallest chip, making it more compact and efficient.

As AI workloads and electrification drive demand, what new opportunities does autonomous power management create for utilities, data center operators, and energy-focused startups over the next decade?

AI workloads are fundamentally changing what data centers are. They’re becoming more like AI factories than the traditional facilities we’ve known for decades. At the same time, electrification is creating new complexities for the grid.

Autonomous power management creates an opportunity to meet that demand more intelligently. Karman gives operators real-time visibility and control over how power is flowing and being used. That allows data centers to run more compute without increasing their provisioned power, and it helps utilities plan and operate a more stable, efficient grid.

More broadly, it opens the door for a new generation of energy-focused startups building software-defined, infrastructure-native solutions. For Utilidata, the heartbeat of our company is taking what we’ve learned from the grid and applying it to new energy challenges. Autonomous power management is finally enabling us to solve energy problems that have persisted for decades, all while laying the foundation for power infrastructure that can meet the demands of the technologies yet to come.

About Utilidata:
Utilidata is a technology company bringing distributed artificial intelligence (AI) to the edge of the electric grid to accelerate decarbonization and better serve utility customers. The company’s smart grid chip, powered by NVIDIA, is the utility industry’s first scalable distributed AI solution and provides an open, scalable, and future-proof platform for grid operations.  For more information, visit utilidata.com or follow @Utilidata on X.