Founded in 2019, TekUncorked aims to provide reliable, outage-free electricity for all by transforming distribution grids into smart, predictive, efficient and resilient systems. TekUncorked’s AI-led platform provides predictive analytics and actionable insights into faults, leakages, imbalances and inefficiencies. It not only recommends solutions and generates work orders but also automates grid healing processes that manage outages, network imbalances, inefficiencies, leakages and theft. The company has successfully deployed its AI and IoT-driven Distribution Grid Management Platform, LVIoT, at over 300 locations, benefiting nearly 350,000 consumers by reducing outages and improving recovery times from breakdowns. TekUncorked has conducted early pilots with over six private and government utilities in India and has secured commercial orders within the country. The company has earned recognition and awards from notable organisations, including UN Habitat, FedEx Cares, Third Derivative, New Energy Nexus, Microsoft for Start-Ups, Google for Start-Ups, Qualcomm Ventures, NASSCOM and Start-Up Haryana.
TekUncorked has raised over Rs 50 million through the founders’ capital, contributions from friends and family, strategic angels and Third Derivative. Additionally, the company has secured approximately Rs 40 million in indirect capital through grants and benefits related to cloud services, workspace and lab access from Microsoft for Startups, Google for Startups, Nasscom, Qualcomm Ventures and Zone StartUps.
LVIoT platform and its use cases
TekUncorked’s LVIoT is an AIIoT platform comprising smart edge IoT devices, connectivity stack and an AI engine for real-time grid monitoring, fault and risk localisation and actuation to trigger auto-healing of the grid. LVIoT provides a grid management platform at the electricity distribution level. While supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) is used for the high tension grid, the low tension (LT) grid has minimal remote automation capability as the grid sites are spread over a large area. Typically, there is a grid access point approximately every 1.25 square km at the distribution level. The LVIoT platform enhances capabilities at the LT grid level by integrating smart technology and without altering the grid architecture. The platform provides interface hooks to SCADA that allows remote monitoring of the entire grid from source to end point.
The platform focuses on improving grid efficiency by monitoring and addressing imbalances, while offering multi platform integration for seamless control and monitoring of distributed equipment. The system provides insights into load variations and forecasts demand to optimise feeder management. Predictive capabilities detect anomalies to anticipate infrastructure issues and improvements in the mean time to recovery and reduce the time needed to address faults. Real-time updates on asset health are available, and breakers and relays are monitored for automatic recovery. Edge devices feature zero maintenance with auto-recovery and upgrades. The system also ensures protection and safety by detecting risks and issuing actionable alerts. Role-based dashboards deliver analytics and insights for effective fault management and recovery.
With regard to use cases, LVIoT technology excels in preventive maintenance by identifying equipment that requires servicing to avoid potential outages. It also improves asset health and optimises phase and feeder balancing, which can lead to a substantial reduction in technical losses. Additionally, their system enhances outage detection, allowing for quicker identification and resolution of outages, thereby improving the overall reliability. Beyond these core use cases, TekUncorked’s flexible tech stack is adaptable to a variety of related applications. It can be employed to combat commercial theft, forecast demand, manage renewable energy and load, and optimise electric vehicle
charging. The technology is also applicable in other sectors such as railways and industrial settings.
The platform uses the concept of AI layers to meet consumers’ needs and requirements. While the basic platform is fully functional and supports the functionality of monitoring grid health, there is a provision to build on top of the basic algorithmic framework in a plug-and-play fashion. Such upgrades shall enhance LVIoT capability to auto-heal the grid from a large number of diverse scenarios such as over/under loading, low power quality, breakdowns and safety risks, and bring us closer to the vision of reliable, outage-free electricity for all.
Notably, TekUncorked’s AI-IoT platform adds a layer of AI-led intelligence to the distribution grid and, in future, shall be extended to facilitate flexible and intelligent bidirectional integration of EV infrastructure, battery storage systems, renewables and other emerging technologies to the grid in a smooth fashion, so that the carbon footprint, resource adequacy and resiliency of the grid can be improved significantly.
Future plans and the way forward
Commenting on top priorities and focus areas for the future, Meenakshi Vashist, founder & CEO, TekUncorked says, “Over the next five years, TekUncorked aims to secure over $1 billion in revenue and orders by implementing a strategic approach. We will leverage our early-mover advantage to rapidly scale operations in India and expand our distribution globally. Our focus will be on continuously enhancing our technology, execution and processes to align with our vision of extreme customer focus. To support these initiatives, we will accelerate our fundraising efforts. Additionally, we will build and develop a top-tier team specialising in research, development and delivery.” Notably, the company is also in early stages of market exploration in global markets and has received good interest towards its solution for making grids more reliable and flexible.
The company has encountered several key issues on its journey. A major concern is the widespread apprehension among investors regarding the power sector. While there is a broad agreement on the necessity of grid modernisation, investments in this sector are often seen as high risk. Additionally, the prolonged sales cycle has a detrimental effect on the company’s cash flow and growth. The extended duration from initial engagement to final deal closure creates financial strain and hampers TekUncorked’s ability to scale quickly. Another challenge is the high turnover requirements for bids, which complicates the bidding process and increases the operational burden on the team.
To navigate obstacles, TekUncorked has relied on accelerators, its network and strategic angels to fund its initiatives, and will continue to seek such support in the future. Its strategic focus remains on delivering cutting-edge technology and forging partnerships to manage utility bids effectively. By balancing in-depth research with project execution, TekUncorked strives to address long sales cycles, while staying lean and efficient in its operations.
