Startup Lands $500M in Orders for 100-Year-Old Tech

While most startups chase cutting-edge innovations, one energy company is winning big by sticking with technology that's been around since your great-grandparents were kids.

Ayr Energy makes electrical transformers using iron-core technology, the same basic design that's powered the grid for over a century. And it's working spectacularly well.

The startup has already secured more than $500 million in orders, proving that old tech can still solve modern problems. CEO Anirudh Reddy and his team saw an opportunity that industry giants like GE, Siemens, and Mitsubishi were too cautious to chase.

Here's what happened: electricity demand is expected to double by the mid-2030s, driven by AI data centers, renewable energy projects, and widespread electrification. But the big manufacturers, who've weathered market bubbles before, hesitated to invest in new production lines.

Reddy and his co-founders saw something different. "When we dug deeper, we realized this demand is being driven by so many different drivers," he told TechCrunch. "It could be a sustained super cycle."

Ayr partnered with manufacturers in India to build transformers with a clever twist. Their designs are modular, letting customers adjust orders even late in the process.

That flexibility matters enormously. With equipment lead times stretching longer than ever, renewable energy companies and data center developers often have to order transformers before their projects are finalized. Traditional manufacturers customize each transformer to specific projects, making changes nearly impossible.

The Ripple Effect

Ayr's approach is helping accelerate the clean energy transition and AI infrastructure buildout by removing a major bottleneck. When developers can order equipment without fear of getting stuck with the wrong specifications, they can move faster on projects that power our future.

The startup's success is also creating manufacturing jobs and proving that venture capital can work for industries typically considered too stable for big returns. They're showing that innovation isn't always about inventing something new.

Once Ayr establishes trust with customers, the company plans to introduce next-generation technologies like solid-state transformers. "That was our game plan from day one," Reddy said.

Sometimes progress means recognizing that what worked for a hundred years can work for a hundred more.