Entrepreneurs for Impact #218: Sean Kelly, CEO of Amperon – $35M for Machine Learning in Energy Demand and Price Forecasting. 20 Years in Energy. Boxing for Sanity. Long-term Relationship Building.
Amperon is a Houston-based technology company specializing in AI-powered electricity forecasting and analytics solutions. Founded in 2018, Amperon provides high-precision demand, renewable generation, and price forecasts to enhance grid reliability, manage financial risk, and support decarbonization efforts.
Their platform serves a diverse clientele, including utilities, financial traders, and independent power producers, by leveraging advanced AI models and real-time analytics to navigate the complexities of modern energy markets. In October 2023, Amperon raised $20 million in Series B funding led by Energize Capital, underscoring their commitment to innovation in the energy sector.
For almost 20 years, Sean Kelly has been at the forefront of the energy trading industry, working for Tenaska, Lehman, EDF, and E.On. While at EDF, he led the transition of two nuclear plants (Nine Mile and Ginna) into the NYISO market, then led the buildout of E.On’s North American trading desk. Next, he co-founded Bridge Power Consulting and sold it to Albireo Energy in 2019. He co-founded Amperon in 2018.
In this podcast, you’ll learn these takeaways and much more.
- How to utilize AI and machine learning for accurate energy demand and price forecasting
- What is the significance of automatic weighting in analyzing diverse weather data for energy predictions
- Who said this wonderful quote: “I’ll build it if you can sell it”
- How founders should not sell themselves short or sacrifice on their long-term thesis when working with investors
- Why building strong long-term non-transactional relationships with investors and early adopter customer prospects is crucial for company growth
- Why he finds value in books like The Tao of Bill Murray and The Devil in the White City
- How boxing keeps him sane and healthy on the founder journey
🔗 PODCAST SHOW LINKS:
Sean - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sean-kelly-0792626
Amperon - https://www.amperon.co
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🤔 PODCAST HOST:
Dr. Chris Wedding is the CEO of EFI (climate CEO peer groups and executive coaching), cofounder of Terraset (carbon removal), Senior Advisor at Javelin Capital (clean energy investment banking), Board member at World Tree (regenerative forestry), Board Advisor at DG Matrix (next-gen power electronics), Duke & UNC professor, ex-private equity investor, ex-investment banker, occasional monk, and a super humble human being (as evidenced by this long bio).