- Daylight Energy raised $75 million to develop its decentralized physical energy network.
- Framework Ventures led the funding round; A16z Crypto and Coinbase Ventures participated.
- The new DayFi protocol links energy infrastructure revenues with DeFi investors.
Daylight Energy has secured $75 million in new funding to accelerate the growth of its decentralized energy network, marking a notable milestone for the startup focused on bringing blockchain innovation to physical energy infrastructure.
The round combines equity capital and non-recourse project financing, underscoring growing investor interest in decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePIN).
Financing structure and investor participation
The $75 million round includes $15 million in equity and $60 million in non-recourse project financing, which CEO Jason Badeaux says is secured directly against infrastructure assets.
This financing structure allows repayment from the project’s own cash flows rather than relying on the company’s balance sheet.
Framework Ventures led the $15 million equity raise, joined by prominent venture backers including A16z Crypto, Lerer Hippeau, M13, Room40 Ventures, EV3, Crucible Capital, Coinbase Ventures and Not Boring Capital.
Portion of the project financing was led by Turtle Hill Capital, the company said in a statement.
Daylight plans to use the new capital to strengthen its position within the DePIN ecosystem, with a particular focus on decentralized energy distribution.
The company previously raised $9 million in a 2023 Series A that was also led by A16z Crypto, which remains one of its key supporters.
Expanding the DePIN vision for energy
Founded in 2022, Daylight Energy is building a decentralized protocol that allows users to connect their energy devices — such as thermostats, batteries, electric vehicles and solar inverters — to its application.
In return, participants earn rewards for contributing to the network’s distributed infrastructure.
The concept stems from the growing DePIN movement, which aims to decentralize ownership and control of physical assets like telecommunications, storage and energy infrastructure through blockchain technology.
“To build the world’s largest decentralized energy network, you must incentivize behavioral change to adopt distributed energy and catalyze massive amounts of capital behind it,” Badeaux said. “Crypto is uniquely good at accomplishing both of these things, creating opportunities to align incentives, reduce costs and rebuild this industry on transparency, ownership and shared economic growth.”
Daylight’s mission aligns with a broader industry effort to democratize access to clean energy production and participation in the value chain.
By combining blockchain incentives with real-world energy systems, the company aims to lower barriers to decentralized adoption.
Introducing DayFi: a bridge between energy and DeFi
Alongside the new funding, Daylight announced DayFi, a yield protocol designed to open the energy infrastructure market to decentralized finance (DeFi) investors.
The protocol will enable users to earn yields directly tied to revenue from electricity generated by Daylight’s growing portfolio of solar and storage assets.
This move effectively links renewable energy production with DeFi, offering investors exposure to actual energy generation within a native blockchain framework.
Daylight was co-founded by Jason Badeaux, Udit Patel and Evan Caron, all veterans of the traditional energy industry.
The team’s combined experience and backing from leading venture firms position Daylight as one of the front-runners exploring how blockchain can reshape markets for physical infrastructure.
With the new funding secured, Daylight Energy is poised to expand its decentralized network footprint and further integrate energy generation, distribution and financing into a transparent, tokenized ecosystem.