Trilliant takes $40M in one of the biggest smart grid investments to date - 0 views
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xxx xxx on 20 Aug 08Part of the growing trend for nearly every electronic device to be able to communicate with others, smart grid and advanced metering startup Trilliant has taken $40 million in its first official venture funding.\n\nTrilliant, like competitors Ambient, Silver Spring Networks, SmartSynch and others, makes wireless communication devices for utility meters. When enough are present in an area, they can form a mesh network capable of communicating moment-to-moment use information back to utilities, and to the homes and businesses they're installed within. (Some can also communicate via hardwired connections.)\n\nThe company is one of the oldest to try to tackle the problem. I covered it in more depth in June. The problem with looking at the field is that, at first glance, all the contenders seem to be pretty much identical; broadly speaking, each is approaching the same problem, that of trying to get more information about usage to consumers and utilities, in more or less the same way.