Kitu

Kitu Systems, Inc. operates at the intersection of cleantech and the Internet of Things, providing software solutions to manage the energy transition. Founded in 2009 as Grid2Home with a focus on in-home energy communications, the company rebranded to Kitu Systems in 2015, shifting its strategy to embrace cloud architecture and scalable solutions. The company is led by President and CEO Rick Kornfeld, a veteran of the telecommunications industry with leadership experience at notable companies like Qualcomm and Texas Instruments. His entrepreneurial background in wireless technology aligns with Kitu's mission to create a robust, scalable communication infrastructure for the modern energy grid.

The core of Kitu's business is its Grid Action Platform (GAP), an end-to-end system that embeds intelligence into Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) such as solar panels, battery storage, and electric vehicles (EVs). This platform aggregates communication from these devices and securely connects them with utilities and energy market operators. Kitu's business model is centered on providing this software and its associated services to a range of clients, including utilities, DER providers, device manufacturers, and third-party energy service providers. The company generates revenue through its software suites and platforms that enable coordination of behind-the-meter resources and smart charging infrastructure.

Kitu Systems offers a portfolio of software products designed for different stakeholders within the energy ecosystem. The product suite includes 'Spark,' client software for smart inverters and other edge devices; 'Citadel,' a utility-scale server for handling DER communications behind the utility's firewall; and 'Convoy,' a cloud-based aggregation platform. More recently, the 'Expedition CMS' has been introduced as a charge management system specifically for EVs, designed to integrate with a wide array of charging hardware. A key selling point is the platform's foundation on open industry standards like IEEE 2030.5, OCPP, and ISO 15118, which ensures interoperability and supports advanced functionalities such as vehicle-grid integration (V2G), demand response, and dynamic pricing. The company emphasizes security, holding a SOC 2 Type 2 certification, and has been awarded several patents related to the shared control and reliability assessment of distributed energy resources.

Keywords: Distributed Energy Resources, DER management, EV charging management, smart grid software, vehicle-to-grid, V2G, energy communications, cleantech, utility software, IEEE 2030.5, OCPP, EV smart charging, DER aggregation, virtual power plant, energy IoT, grid management, load balancing, demand response, microgrids, SOC 2 certified