While private energy storage innovator Base Power is not publicly traded, its massive $13 billion valuation highlights strong institutional confidence in domestic battery manufacturing and grid infrastructure. Everyday investors seeking exposure to fast-growing private technology companies can utilize the public ticker VCX by Fundrise to access venture capital assets. To capitalize on advanced stock screening, retail investors can use the investing platform Public to build custom indexes driven by AI agent swarms. Additionally, users transferring assets to Public can take advantage of an uncapped 1% match on transferred funds. Finally, investors should research publicly traded companies operating in adjacent distributed energy and smart grid sectors to mirror the macroeconomic momentum seen in private energy markets.

Base Power (Private Company - Valuation $13B)

• Base Power is a residential battery and power company that recently raised a $1 billion Series D funding round at a $13 billion valuation. Investors in the round include Ribbit Capital, Edition, Valor Equity Partners, and JPMorgan Chase. This brings the company's total funding to over $2.5 billion.
• The company designs, manufactures, and installs standalone home batteries (specifically launching the Base Core, a 40 kilowatt-hour system with a 20-kilowatt inverter). Their system is roughly three times larger than traditional home batteries and is designed to provide whole-home backup power and grid support.
• Base Power operates under two main business models depending on the local energy market:
  • In retail choice markets (such as Houston, Dallas, parts of Austin, and the Chicago area), they act as a power provider, selling electricity directly to homeowners while using the neighborhood batteries to lower energy costs.
  • In non-retail choice markets (such as parts of California or El Paso where a single utility holds a monopoly), they partner with the local utility, retaining ownership of the battery while the utility controls it and pays for access.
• The company heavily emphasizes vertical integration, manufacturing their own batteries in the U.S. (in Austin, Texas) to reduce lead times, cut costs, and rapidly iterate hardware. They are currently producing units at a rapid clip with plans to scale production significantly.

Takeaways

• While Base Power is currently a private company and cannot be bought directly on public stock exchanges, its massive $13 billion valuation and backing by top-tier financial institutions signal strong institutional confidence in the residential energy storage and grid-support sector.
• Investors looking to gain exposure to similar macroeconomic trends can research public companies operating in adjacent sectors, such as distributed energy resources, home energy management, smart grid infrastructure, and domestic battery manufacturing supply chains.

VCX by Fundrise (Public Ticker: VCX)

• VCX is highlighted as a platform and public ticker that allows everyday investors of all sizes to gain exposure to venture capital and private technology companies.

Takeaways

• For retail investors interested in getting exposure to fast-growing private tech companies—similar to how venture capital firms fund high-valuation startups like Base Power—platforms like VCX offer a public vehicle to invest in private technology assets.

Public (Investing Platform)

• The investing platform Public was mentioned for launching a feature called generated assets, which utilizes AI agent swarms to scan every U.S. stock, evaluate fundamentals, and build custom stock indexes based on user-defined investment theses (e.g., specific metrics on free cash flow or revenue growth).
• Public also allows users to invest in stocks, bonds, options, and crypto within a single platform, and offers an uncapped 1% match for transferring investments from other platforms.

Takeaways

• Investors looking for advanced tools to screen stocks based on specific fundamental criteria (such as positive free cash flow or high year-over-year revenue growth) can utilize AI-driven thesis builders like the one offered on Public to backtest strategies against the S&P 500 before deploying capital.