SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 21, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pila Energy, maker of plug-in, mesh home batteries for accessible backup power and lower-friction energy control, today announced it has raised $4 million in seed funding led by R7 Partners, with participation from Toyota Ventures, Refactor Capital, GS Futures, and other strategic backers. The round accelerates Pila’s U.S. launch, and scales manufacturing, priority partnerships, and continued development of Pila’s grid-aware software. With this funding, Pila's batteries are now available to order.

Across the U.S., outages are lasting longer and striking more often, leaving millions without power for days at a time. Residential electricity prices are outpacing inflation, and have climbed nearly 30% since 2021. Meanwhile, utilities are stretched by aging infrastructure, wildfire/storm risks, and growing demand from data centers and new industrial loads. And with 1 in 6 American households behind on energy bills, the need for affordable solutions that scale quickly is immediate.

“Growing up in New Orleans, I saw firsthand how devastating large-scale outages can be,” said Cole Ashman, Pila Founder & CEO, and veteran of Tesla’s Powerwall and SPAN’s smart panel. “Reliable power should be the standard, not a luxury. Energy independence at home and a stronger grid aren’t trade-offs, and with Pila, they support each other, and are now available for order for any home or business.”

The Pila Battery provides smart, simple, automatic backup power that puts people in control of their power and reinforces the grid:

• Plug-and-play backup: Set up Pila’s smart batteries in minutes via a standard wall outlet. Each 1.6 kWh unit keeps essentials — fridges, Wi-Fi, window A/Cs, sump pumps, medical devices — running when the grid goes down.
• Mesh technology for whole-home power management: Pila is the first of its kind mesh battery. Like mesh Wi-Fi, multiple batteries work together through Pila’s Battery Mesh Network — quietly in the background — to store solar or utility power and optimize energy for outage protection and bill savings. The Pila app shows available backup and lets you set priorities.
• Modular and accessible power: Start with one 1.6 kWh unit and add room by room, appliance by appliance — the mesh gets smarter together. Because it plugs into standard outlets, Pila uniquely works for renters and multifamily buildings, bringing resilience to apartments, condos, and small businesses where permanent electrical work is often restricted.
• Everyday value: Pila manages energy daily, not just during blackouts, offering appliance-level monitoring, fridge-temperature alerts, and smart scheduling to lower costs.
• Utility-ready: Pila is built to integrate with demand response and virtual power programs so customers can earn credits for supporting the grid.
  

“Pila is building a foundationally new operating system for power in buildings — a hardware-enabled software surface for energy optimization that compounds value over time,” said Mackey Saturday, Partner at R7. “What impressed us most is how much complexity they’ve removed through design: plug-in deployment, appliance-level awareness that surfaces actionable insights, and automatic energy optimization that learns over time and anyone can use.”

"Distributed, intelligent energy control is critical to overcoming the limitations of today’s battery systems, particularly when it comes to interoperability and reliability," said Ethan Sohn, principal at Toyota Ventures. "We're excited about Pila's approach of offering a flexible, distributed infrastructure that can lower barriers to home battery adoption and support integration across homes, multifamily, and small businesses."

Since its public debut at SXSW 2025, Pila has built a pre-order backlog across 45 states and was recently named an honoree for Fast Company’s Next Big Thing in Tech Awards. With first shipments planned for late 2025, the company is on track to bring reliable, accessible resilience to households nationwide.

Pila Mesh Home Batteries are available to pre-order for $99, or purchase for $1,299, today at www.PilaEnergy.com, and will begin shipping in late 2025.

Note to reporters: Additional images available here

Pila Energy — Pila is building the first distributed home battery platform, redefining how energy resilience and intelligence reach households and businesses at scale. With sleek plug-in design and networked intelligence, Pila batteries seamlessly integrate into any home or business, turning everyday appliances into smart power hubs that optimize usage, manage energy costs, and provide backup when it matters most. Pila’s mission is to empower households with true energy independence while creating a resilient, decentralized grid built from the edge out.

For more information, contact Meaghan Praznik: meaghan@fjaracommunications.com.

A video accompanying this announcement is available at: https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/4cbf1c99-0987-4179-82a7-d89fc966a20c