By Octopus EnergyLearning Objectives
- Describe what Octopus Kraken does and why a modern utility platform matters
- Explain how AI coordinates a virtual power plant across EVs, batteries, solar, and heat pumps
- Identify how Kraken is licensed to other suppliers and being spun out as a standalone company
What Is Octopus Kraken?
Octopus Kraken is a utility-operations platform built by Octopus Energy, the London-based energy company founded in 2015. Kraken runs the customer-facing and operational side of an energy supplier — billing, customer service, and account management — at a scale of tens of millions of customer accounts. Beyond powering Octopus Energy itself, Kraken is licensed to other energy suppliers around the world, so it serves as software infrastructure for the wider industry.
Kraken is also more than a back-office system. It runs an AI virtual power plant that coordinates distributed devices — electric vehicles, home batteries, rooftop solar, and heat pumps — surpassing hundreds of thousands of connected devices and gigawatts of flexibility. Reflecting its growing importance, Kraken is being spun out as a standalone software company, a private-to-public transition worth watching.
💡Key Concept
Utility Platform plus VPP Flexibility: A utility platform handles the operational relationship with customers — billing, service, and account management. Adding virtual-power-plant flexibility means the same platform can also coordinate customers' devices, such as electric vehicles and home batteries, to shift energy use in response to grid needs. Combining the two lets a supplier both serve customers and turn their devices into a coordinated, flexible grid resource.
What Octopus Kraken Does
- Customer operations — runs billing, customer service, and account management at scale
- Massive account base — serves tens of millions of customer accounts
- Third-party licensing — is licensed to other energy suppliers worldwide as operational infrastructure
- Virtual power plant — coordinates EVs, home batteries, solar, and heat pumps as flexible capacity
- Large device fleet — has surpassed hundreds of thousands of connected devices and gigawatts of flexibility
How AI Is Applied
Kraken applies AI in two connected ways. On the operations side, it uses automation and machine learning to handle customer service and account management efficiently at very large scale. On the grid side, it runs a virtual power plant that uses AI to coordinate distributed devices — deciding, for example, when to charge an electric vehicle, discharge a home battery, or adjust a heat pump so that the combined fleet responds to price signals and grid conditions.
The result is that individual customer devices become a coordinated, flexible resource. By intelligently timing when hundreds of thousands of EVs, batteries, solar systems, and heat pumps draw or supply energy, Kraken can provide gigawatts of flexibility to the grid while often lowering costs for customers. Because Kraken is licensed to other suppliers, this capability extends well beyond Octopus Energy's own customer base.
Who Uses Octopus Kraken
Kraken is used by energy suppliers — Octopus Energy itself and the other suppliers worldwide that license the platform to run their operations. Its customers are therefore utilities and retail energy providers, while their end customers benefit from the virtual-power-plant programs that coordinate home devices. The users inside a supplier are customer-operations, billing, and flexibility teams.
Pricing
Octopus Kraken is enterprise software licensed to energy suppliers, with quote-based pricing. Cost depends on the number of customer accounts served, the scope of operations handled, and whether virtual-power-plant flexibility is included. Suppliers contact Octopus or Kraken directly for a tailored quote.
Company Details
| Detail | Info |
|---|---|
| Company | Octopus Energy |
| Founded | 2015 |
| Headquarters | London, United Kingdom |
| Category | Utility customer platform and virtual power plant |
| Scale | Tens of millions of customer accounts |
| Status | Being spun out as a standalone software company |
| Website | kraken.tech |
Strengths
- Proven at massive scale — runs operations for tens of millions of customer accounts
- Industry infrastructure — licensed to energy suppliers worldwide, not just Octopus Energy
- Combines operations and flexibility — one platform for customer operations and virtual-power-plant coordination
- Large flexibility fleet — coordinates hundreds of thousands of devices and gigawatts of flexibility
- Growing independence — being spun out as a standalone software company
Limitations and Considerations
- Supplier-scale product — aimed at energy suppliers, not individual customers or small teams
- Flexibility needs device enrollment — virtual-power-plant value depends on customers connecting their devices
- Enterprise licensing — quote-based and dependent on scope and account volume
- Transition underway — the spin-out into a standalone company is still in progress
Key Takeaways
- Octopus Kraken is a utility-operations platform serving tens of millions of customer accounts and licensed to energy suppliers worldwide
- It also runs an AI virtual power plant coordinating electric vehicles, home batteries, solar, and heat pumps, surpassing hundreds of thousands of connected devices and gigawatts of flexibility
- It is being spun out as a standalone software company, a private-to-public transition worth watching
- Best for energy suppliers that want a modern operations platform combined with virtual-power-plant flexibility, with quote-based enterprise licensing
