Gradyent
Gradyent provides a real-time, AI-driven Digital Twin SaaS platform that optimizes district heating, cooling, industrial steam, and CO2 grids for European utilities, cities, and industrial operators.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2019
- HeadquartersUtrecht, Netherlands
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Gradyent does
Gradyent B.V. is a Netherlands-based climate technology company founded in 2019 that provides a real-time Digital Twin Platform for optimizing district heating, cooling, industrial steam, and CO2 grid infrastructure. The cloud-based SaaS platform combines proprietary physics-based thermohydraulic and thermodynamic models with AI/machine learning, running up to 10,000 setpoint scenarios per minute on multi-core cloud systems. It ingests live SCADA, sensor, smart meter, geospatial, and weather data to create a continuously calibrated digital replica of an entire grid, from production sources through distribution to end users, enabling real-time production scheduling, temperature and pressure control, predictive maintenance, leak detection, and what-if scenario simulation.
The company serves district heating utilities (municipal to capital-city scale), industrial operators with steam grids (chemicals, refining, pulp & paper, food & beverage), and district cooling operators. Named customers include Veolia (Warsaw, Łódź, Poznań), Helen (Helsinki), Eneco, Ennatuurlijk, Utilitas (Tallinn), Wien Energie, Uniper, Shell Energy and Chemicals Park Rotterdam, EBN, and TU Delft. Gradyent employs 150+ staff, operates from its Rotterdam headquarters with offices in Berlin and Emsbüren (Germany) and New York, and maintains wholly-owned subsidiaries Gradyent GmbH and Gradyent Inc.
Gradyent's business model is enterprise SaaS subscription with bundled implementation and professional services, sold on a no-CapEx basis with a stated sub-two-year payback. Go-to-market is direct enterprise field sales organized regionally across DACH, Nordics & Baltics, Central Europe, North America, and an Industry vertical. The company has raised over €39M in venture funding across a 2020 seed, a €10M Series A (August 2022), and a €28M Series B (April 2025), with backers including Blue Earth Capital, Capricorn Partners, Eneco Ventures, ENERGIIQ, Helen Ventures, and SEB Greentech VC. Several customers (Eneco, Helen) are also financial investors, creating an anchor-client + investor model.
Gradyent firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Gradyent
- Legal name
- Gradyent B.V.
- Website
- https://gradyent.ai
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2019
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- Gradyent provides a real-time, AI-driven Digital Twin SaaS platform that optimizes district heating, cooling, industrial steam, and CO2 grids for European utilities, cities, and industrial operators.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Gradyent industry classification
Industry- Product category
- District Heating Optimization Software
- NAICS
- Steam and Air-Conditioning Supply (221330)
- SIC
- Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Predictive Maintenance Analytics & APM Software (AI/ML, Digital Twins) (EUAEAKAH)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- GIS, Network Modeling & Digital Twin for Gas Systems (EUAJAEAF), Environmental Digital Twins & Predictive Analytics (Sensor Fusion, Forecasting, Optimization) (EUAHAKAJ)
Keywords
Where Gradyent is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Utrecht
- HQ country
- Netherlands
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices4 records
Markets served
Gradyent business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- SaaS Subscription: Software-as-a-service solution with subscription pricing model. Tailor-made for each network with implementation services included. No CapEx required from customers - operates on outcome-based model.
- Professional Services: Implementation and engineering services for building and calibrating digital twins. World-class team of experts builds and implements solutions in close cooperation with customer teams.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels5 records
Gradyent product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Gradyent offers a real-time Digital Twin Platform delivered as a cloud-based SaaS solution that creates a digital replica of complete district heating, cooling, steam, and CO2 grid infrastructure. The platform combines physics-based thermohydraulic models with AI/machine learning and live sensor, weather, and geospatial data to optimize production scheduling, temperature, pressure, and end-user performance in real time. It serves district heating utilities and industrial operators seeking to reduce heat losses, lower CO2 emissions, cut operating costs, and integrate renewable and low-temperature heat sources.
Product overview
Gradyent's product offering is organized as a single integrated real-time Digital Twin Platform — a cloud-based SaaS solution that creates a digital replica of an entire heating, cooling, steam, or CO2 grid — supported by six specific optimization modules (Production Scheduling and Control, Temperature Control, Pressure Control, User Control, Issue Detection and Predictive Maintenance, and Design and Simulation) that together cover the full value chain from production through distribution to end users. Additionally, a dedicated Industrial Heating module extends the platform for steam grid use cases in chemical, refining, and manufacturing sectors. The platform combines physics-based hydraulic and thermodynamic models with AI/machine learning, leveraging live SCADA, sensor, and weather data to deliver real-time optimization, automated setpoint control, and what-if scenario simulation.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Gradyent Real-Time Digital Twin Platform A cloud-based SaaS platform that creates a real-time digital replica of complete heating, cooling, steam, or CO2 grid infrastructure — from production sources through distribution networks to end users — combining sensor, geospatial, and weather data with physics-based models and AI to optimize grid performance, reduce emissions, and enable autonomous operation. Sold to district heating utilities, municipalities, and industrial operators.
- Solutions for Industrial Heating A specialized version of the Digital Twin Platform tailored for industrial steam grids covering temperature, pressure, and mass balance optimization, heat source scheduling and control, steam usage control, issue detection, and design and simulation. Targets chemical plants, refineries, and manufacturing facilities seeking to reduce CO2 emissions and energy costs with under 2 years payback.
Quantifiable outcome
- Forward temperature reduction up to 10°C
- +7 more outcomes
Companies that use Gradyent
Customer profileNamed customers22 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Gradyent technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability7 records
Feature4 records
Gradyent partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Ten partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.
- Veolia WarsawflagshipVeolia Warsaw partnered with Gradyent to implement real-time Digital Twin across Warsaw's district heating system (11 TWh annual heat demand, largest in EU, serving 1.4 million residents). Builds on successful deployments in Poznań and Łódź. Focuses on optimization, decarbonization, and modernization of Europe's largest district heating system.
- UtilitasflagshipMulti-year partnership with Estonia's leading renewable energy company to implement real-time Digital Twin of Tallinn's 2 TWh heating system (536 km network, 194,000 households). Supports Utilitas' goal to raise renewable heat share to 90%+ by 2027.
- EnnatuurlijkcoreMulti-year agreement for Midden West Brabant district heating system (1 TWh annually to Breda and Tilburg). Extended partnership building on successful collaborations in Hengelo, Enschede, and Helmond.
- EBN (Energie Beheer Nederland)coreImplementing unique CCS software model (Calysto Porthos) for Porthos CO2 transport and storage project in Port of Rotterdam. Will store 2.5 Mton CO2 per year for 15 years.
- TU DelftcoreAgreement for TU Delft campus heating system to run on autopilot with real-time Digital Twin.
- ShellflagshipPilot partnership to create Digital Twin of steam grid at Shell Energy and Chemicals Park Rotterdam. Site processes ~700 tonnes of steam per hour. Identified steam venting reduction and validated electrification plans.
- ShellflagshipPartnership to reduce emissions via steam grid optimization at Shell Energy and Chemicals Park Rotterdam.
- Veolia PolandflagshipBuilding Digital Twins for Łódź and Poznań district heating systems with goal of optimizing and decarbonizing. Łódź has 10,000+ substations. Part of Veolia's transformation toward 4G systems.
- GasuniecoreLong-term collaboration to decarbonise heating via WarmtelinQ project. Gasunie is partner in Porthos CCS project as well.
- Port of Rotterdam AuthorityminorPartner in Porthos CCS project. Gradyent implementing CCS software model for the project.
Scale indicators15 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Gradyent competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Danfoss: Danfoss (Leanheat) is the most direct peer in district heating optimization, offering AI-based optimization of DH networks and heating for buildings. Both companies target DH utilities with software-driven efficiency and decarbonization, making them head-to-head competitors for the same European municipal and utility customers.
Broad incumbents
- Siemens Smart Infrastructure: Siemens offers comprehensive energy management and digital twin solutions (Xcelerator, MindSphere) for utilities and industrial customers. While not exclusively focused on district heating, it competes with Gradyent in DH optimization, asset performance, and grid management for the same enterprise buyer.
- AVEVA: AVEVA provides industrial digital twin and asset performance software (PI System, AVEVA CONNECT) widely used in energy and process industries. Competes with Gradyent for industrial steam grid customers (Shell, chemical, refining) and offers adjacent digital twin capabilities for energy infrastructure operators.
- Schneider Electric: Schneider Electric's EcoStruxure platform serves energy and industrial customers with grid management, asset performance, and digital twin capabilities. Competes broadly with Gradyent for utility and industrial energy optimization spend across similar European accounts.
- Honeywell: Honeywell Forge and Connected Plant compete in industrial digital twin and asset performance management for process industries. Targets the same industrial steam grid customers (refineries, chemical plants) as Gradyent's industrial heating solutions.
- Bentley Systems: Bentley Systems provides iTwin platform for infrastructure digital twins, used by utilities and municipalities to model and manage physical infrastructure. Competes with Gradyent in digital twin applications for district heating/cooling networks, particularly in municipal and utility contexts.
- Aspen Technology: Aspen Technology (now part of Emerson) provides industrial process optimization software (AspenTech) widely used in chemicals, energy, and manufacturing. Competes with Gradyent for industrial customers seeking process optimization and digital twin capabilities, especially in steam and heat-intensive operations.
- Yokogawa Electric: Yokogawa (including KBC Advanced Technologies) provides industrial automation and process optimization software. Competes with Gradyent in industrial energy/steam optimization for process plants and serves similar customers in the chemical, refining, and energy sectors.
Emerging players
- Cosmo Tech: Cosmo Tech provides hybrid digital twin technology for infrastructure and energy use cases. Both companies combine physics-based modeling with AI for complex system optimization, though Cosmo Tech's focus is broader (transport, energy, urban systems) including some energy grid applications.
Regional players
- Uponor (Unilin / Uponor): Uponor is a major provider of district heating and cooling pipe systems and pre-insulated pipe networks in Europe. While primarily a pipe/infrastructure provider, it increasingly partners with or competes against software players in offering complete DH solutions to utilities.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Gradyent social profiles
Digital presenceGradyent financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Gradyent leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles7 records
Gradyent subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries2 records
Gradyent funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds3 records
Investors6 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Gradyent M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Gradyent
What does Gradyent do?
Gradyent offers a real-time Digital Twin Platform delivered as a cloud-based SaaS solution that creates a digital replica of complete district heating, cooling, steam, and CO2 grid infrastructure. The platform combines physics-based thermohydraulic models with AI/machine learning and live sensor, weather, and geospatial data to optimize production scheduling, temperature, pressure, and end-user performance in real time. It serves district heating utilities and industrial operators seeking to reduce heat losses, lower CO2 emissions, cut operating costs, and integrate renewable and low-temperature heat sources.
Is Gradyent a public or private company?
Gradyent is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Gradyent founded?
Gradyent was founded in 2019. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is Gradyent based?
Gradyent is headquartered in Utrecht, Netherlands, in the Europe region.
How does Gradyent make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. SaaS Subscription is the primary driver. The others are professional Services.
Who are Gradyent's main competitors?
Danfoss is listed as a direct peer. Broad incumbents are Siemens Smart Infrastructure, AVEVA, Schneider Electric, Honeywell, Bentley Systems, Aspen Technology and Yokogawa Electric. Cosmo Tech is listed as an emerging player. Uponor (Unilin / Uponor) is listed as a regional player.
Does Gradyent have an API?
No public API is recorded for Gradyent.
What industry is Gradyent in?
Gradyent's product category is District Heating Optimization Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EUAEAKAH, Predictive Maintenance Analytics & APM Software (AI/ML, Digital Twins), with a secondary code of EUAJAEAF, GIS, Network Modeling & Digital Twin for Gas Systems. Its NAICS code is 221330 and its SIC code is 7373.