Startup · United States
Critical Energy
HQ HawthorneFounded 202411-50 employeesUpdated
Factory-built modular units convert heat into electricity via a closed-loop process, deploying in weeks instead of years.
Funding2 rounds · $19.0M
- Equity raised
- $19.0M
- Debt, secondaries & grants
- $3.0M
- Latest
- $3.0MDebt · Jun 17, 2026
| Announced | Stage | Amount | Valuation | Lead investors | Other investors | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 17, 2026 | Debt | $3.0M | — | Silicon Valley Bank | — | Reported |
| Jun 17, 2026 | Seed | $19.0M | — | Susa Ventures, Upfront Ventures | Alumni Ventures, BoxGroup, Climate Capital, Clocktower Ventures, Dangerous Ventures, Humba Ventures, Liquid 2 Ventures, MaC Venture Capital, Scribble Ventures | Reported |
- DebtLed by Silicon Valley Bank$3.0MJun 17, 2026
- SeedLed by Susa Ventures, Upfront Ventures$19.0MJun 17, 2026
Raised counts equity rounds; debt, secondary sales and grants are totaled separately. Amounts in other currencies are converted at the announcement month's average rate. A ~ marks an estimated or converted amount.
Systems1
- ApexA factory‑built modular power plant platform that converts heat from geothermal or waste‑heat sources into electricity.
Newest unveiled first. Systems that belong to a government program link to the program page, where variants, costs and contracts are.
Capabilities1
| Technology | Role | Maturity | TRL | Notes | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Power, grids and energy storage | Developer | — | — | classify_sectors run 37, haiku, taxonomy 2026-10-18b: Modular heat-to-electricity units for geothermal and waste heat power; no defense use is stated. | Reported |
- Developerclassify_sectors run 37, haiku, taxonomy 2026-10-18b: Modular heat-to-electricity units for geothermal and waste heat power; no defense use is stated.—Reported
Maturity and TRL describe this organization's work; the field-wide maturity is on each technology's page.
People2
| Person | Role |
|---|---|
| Lakshit (Lucky) Goel | Co-Founder |
| Spencer Jackson · LinkedIn ↗ | Founder & CEO |
Hiring Observations5 observed listings
Hawthorne, CA · FullTime · Engineering
Checked
Hawthorne, CA · FullTime · Engineering
Checked
A sample of observed listings, not a total vacancy count. Availability may have changed since collection. Categories are inferred from job titles.
Sources10
Profile3
- 1
Critical Energy · Supports Organization · name
“Critical Energy: Modular Power Plants for Geothermal and Waste Heat Recovery”
- 2
PitchBook · Supports Organization · employee range
“employee_range: 11-50 (profile: 12)”
- 3
Crunchbase · Supports Organization · employee range
“employee_range: 11-50 (profile: 11-50)”
Systems1
- 4
Critical Energy · Supports System
“Our [Apex product line](https://criticalenergy.com/what-were-building/) was designed from the ground up to be heat-source agnostic. The same factory-built module that converts [geothermal](https://criticalenergy.com/why-geothermal/) brine into electricity connects to combustion exhaust with plug-and-play integration, full pre-ship testing, and minimal onsite labor”
Funding3
- 5
FinSMEs · Jun 18, 2026 · Supports Funding round, Funding round · amount
“The investment round was co-led by Susa Ventures and Upfront Ventures”
- 6
TechCrunch · Jun 17, 2026 · Supports Funding round · amount, Funding round · amount status, Funding round · amount usd, Funding round · currency, Funding round · notes
“The startup also nabbed $3 million in venture debt from Silicon Valley Bank, bringing its total early capital to $22 million.”
- 7
Pulse 2.0 · Supports Funding round
“The funding rounds were led by Susa Ventures and Upfront Ventures.”
People2
- 8OtherBlack Flag 100.2
Black Flag · Supports Organization, Role
“Factory-built modular units convert heat into electricity via a closed-loop process, deploying in weeks instead of years. Targeting geothermal and waste heat”
- 9CompanyCritical Energy | LinkedIn
LinkedIn · Supports Organization · employee range, Organization · linkedin url, Role
“employee_range: 11-50 (profile: 11-50 employees)”
Other1
- 10
Each fact on this page is attached to the sources that support it. Archived copies are linked when we keep one.