Geothermal energy exploration and development company announced that it has raised $115 million in a series C funding round, with proceeds from the financing aimed at expanding its AI-powered geothermal discovery platform, and to develop power plants that it has uncovered with its technology.

Launched in 2021 by co-founders CEO Carl Hoiland and CTO Joel Edwards, Salt Lake City, Utah-based Zanskar uses AI and data-based technologies to enable a rapid expansion in the development of geothermal energy, with a mission to “make geothermal power the most affordable form of widely-deployable, 24/7, carbon-free generation on the planet.”

The company uses a combination of technologies including artificial intelligence, modern drilling, and computational geoscience to discover new resources, de-risk known resources and reduce dry-hole risk, addressing key problems holding back more rapid expansion of geothermal energy by reducing discovery costs and exploration risks, and increasing the size of each geothermal field.

Edwards said:

“The resources we need are out there, hidden within the Earth’s crust, and we’re working hard to find the most exceptional hotspots to build a new era of geothermal energy, starting in the United States.”

Zanskar said that the new capital will enable it to advance its gigawatt-scale pipeline through a large-scale exploration and development campaign, and support construction on multiple geothermal power plants throughout the Western U.S., anticipated to begin delivering power before 2030. The company said that it will also expand its discovery platform and exploration drilling programs, and establish new relationships with strategic partners and customers.

Hoiland said:

“We started Zanskar with the belief that AI would have as profound an impact on geothermal cost and scalability as modern drilling technologies have. It would do so by enabling us to find more hidden geothermal systems, and to produce more power from each of those systems, than legacy models assumed. The result is a terawatt-scale opportunity.”

The financing round was led by Spring Lane Capital, with participation from investors including Obvious Ventures, Union Square Ventures, Lowercarbon Capital, and several other energy and technology-focused investors.

Jason Scott, Partner and Entrepreneur in Residence, Spring Lane Capital, said:

“We are eager to support Zanskar because we believe there is a near infinite demand for firm, clean power around the world right now and geothermal energy is one of the only immediate ways to serve this enormous market. Zanskar is unique in that they have identified more geothermal anomalies in North America than any other company in decades.”