$115 million Series C positions Zanskar to build geothermal power plants set to deliver power before 2030 across Western US
Largest venture round to date for AI-enabled geothermal discovery as baseload and data center demand accelerates
Expansion of gigawatt-scale pipeline signals geothermal’s shift into US clean power planning and investor risk appetite
Zanskar, an emerging leader in AI-enabled geothermal exploration, has raised $115 million in Series C funding to accelerate development of a multi gigawatt geothermal pipeline and begin constructing power plants in the Western United States. The round brings total equity raised to $180 million and reflects a growing interest in geothermal as a source of firm, clean baseload power as US grid operators confront rising electrification and data center demand.
Spring Lane Capital led the round, joined by returning investors Obvious Ventures, Union Square Ventures, and Lowercarbon Capital. More than a dozen strategic and institutional energy, infrastructure, and technology investors also participated, including Munich Re Ventures, Susquehanna Sustainable Investments, StepStone Group, UP Partners, and Cross Creek.
New Geothermal Frontier for US Baseload Power
Zanskar intends to use the funding for three immediate priorities: expansion of its AI discovery platform, additional exploration drilling, and the start of geothermal plant construction within its US pipeline. The company expects multiple facilities to begin supplying power before 2030. If realized at scale, the buildout would mark one of the largest geothermal exploration and development campaigns in US history.
Carl Hoiland, Zanskar CEO and Co Founder, said the company set out to rethink geothermal risk and cost through improved resource identification. “We started Zanskar with the belief that AI would have as profound an impact on geothermal cost and scalability as modern drilling technologies have. It would do so by enabling us to find more hidden geothermal systems, and to produce more power from each of those systems, than legacy models assumed. The result is a terawatt scale opportunity,” he said. Hoiland added that exploration to date has confirmed multiple previously unknown geothermal resources across the Western US and that drilling results show stronger performance than expected. “Thanks to the support of forward thinking investors across energy, infrastructure, and technology, and the exceptional progress of our world class team, we are ushering in a new wave of clean, firm, geothermal power,” he said.
AI for Exploration Risk and Cost Reduction
Zanskar’s business model revolves around lowering discovery risk and shortening timeframes through software and AI tools combined with field geoscience. The platform acts as a geothermal development operating system that integrates data layers, predictive models, and field sampling. By improving both hit rates and field size estimates, the company argues that geothermal fields once considered marginal could become commercially viable.
Joel Edwards, co founder and CTO, described the work in terms of rediscovering domestic geology with modern tools. “We’ve always been inspired by the early, legendary explorers that came before us. Their resourcefulness and unfailing optimism laid the groundwork for discovery today,” he said. “We like to think they’d be proud to see how we’ve resurrected and accelerated grassroots exploration with big data, modern computing, and more efficient field data collection, resulting in a pace of discovery not seen before. The resources we need are out there, hidden within the Earth’s crust, and we’re working hard to find the most exceptional hotspots to build a new era of geothermal energy, starting in the United States.”
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Investor Appetite for Firm Clean Energy
For investors, geothermal offers a hedge against both volatility in renewables and rising load growth from digital infrastructure. Jason Scott, Partner and Entrepreneur in Residence at Spring Lane Capital, said the firm backed Zanskar due to demand for around the clock clean power. “We are eager to support Zanskar because we believe there is a near infinite demand for firm, clean power around the world right now and geothermal energy is one of the only immediate ways to serve this enormous market,” he said. Scott noted that Zanskar has identified more geothermal anomalies in North America than any company in decades and that capital and operational support will focus on rapid development across the Western US.
Andrew Beebe, Managing Director at Obvious Ventures, framed geothermal as both climate and competitiveness infrastructure. “The world class team at Zanskar is exactly what this country needs: fast, disciplined and very effective,” he said. “They are positioning geothermal to be one of the cheapest, cleanest and safest energy sources in America, right when we need it most.”
Policy and Market Context for Grid Planners and Hyperscalers
Geothermal’s resurgence is being shaped as much by policy and system demand as by technology. Federal incentives, state procurement targets, and grid reliability requirements are widening the aperture for non intermittent resources. Meanwhile, hyperscalers managing exponential AI workloads are scouting for clean baseload power with predictable capacity, creating a new commercial pull for geothermal in parallel with traditional utility procurement.
Zanskar’s pitch touches both sides. The company argues that AI can help uncover geothermal resources at a scale large enough to power the very data centers driving electricity demand growth. As plants advance toward commissioning, Zanskar is hiring engineers, developers, and project finance specialists to support commercial delivery.
Broader Implications
For C suite and investors, the Series C suggests that geothermal may enter the same strategic conversation as nuclear, long duration storage, and transmission upgrades. While challenges remain in permitting, water usage, drilling, and local acceptance, the prospect of gigawatt scale geothermal could reshape regional baseload mixes in the Western US by the early 2030s.
Globally, geothermal remains underdeveloped relative to its resource base. If Zanskar and peers prove that AI driven exploration can cut cost and risk, geothermal could gain relevance in climate planning and energy security strategies in markets from East Africa to Southeast Asia and Europe, where firm clean capacity is becoming an energy system priority.
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