In 2018, Dan Williams, a PhD from the University of Reading, and Josh Eadie, a robotics and machine learning expert, recognised a ubiquitous but overlooked problem: energy waste from electronic devices left plugged in or on standby.

The duo saw substantial environmental and financial costs of this unnecessary power draw, particularly in commercial settings.

Driven to make a difference, they harnessed their expertise and developed an innovative solution: an AI-powered smart socket to reduce energy consumption at the source.

Also Read: measurable.energy’s AI smart sockets set for SEA expansion with Vertex’s backing

In early 2018, Eadie built the first prototype, embedding intelligent controls directly into plug sockets. By early 2019, they had produced the initial batch of prototypes, followed by pilot installations in April 2020.

That was the beginning of measurable.energy, their UK-headquartered company, which is now helping businesses reduce energy waste and cut costs.

“While typically overlooked in favour of larger systems such as HVAC, plug power makes up nearly 40 per cent of a commercial building’s total energy use,” says Williams, co-founder and CEO of measurable.energy. “Our smart sockets work autonomously to detect and eliminate this power drain, allowing businesses to cut electricity bills and reduce carbon emissions by up to 50 per cent.”

AI-driven insights for better energy management

The AI-driven technology within measurable.energy’s smart sockets plays a key role in identifying and adapting to usage patterns. The system learns from each device’s behaviour, detecting when devices are likely in use or idle and automatically switching them on or off accordingly.

Users can access real-time data via a dedicated dashboard, enabling them to monitor, manage, and optimise energy consumption at a granular level. This detailed feedback helps businesses improve carbon tracking accuracy and ensure compliance with energy regulations.

“Since the product launch in 2023, we have helped reduce nearly 200 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent in commercial deployments,” claims Williams. “In commercial buildings, which account for 28 per cent of global carbon emissions, measurable.energy targets plug power waste, thereby supporting companies in achieving their net-zero ambitions.”

Currently, measurable.energy’s smart sockets are available for businesses through a pricing model that combines a one-time hardware fee with a software license for AI-driven functionality.

Measurable Energy offers smart sockets for businesses. Their pricing model consists of a one-time hardware fee and a software license fee for AI-driven functionality.

While expansion into the residential sector is planned for the future, the company remains focused on B2B clients for now.

With widespread adoption, the startup envisions cumulative positive impacts across both commercial and residential sectors, advancing sustainable energy practices on a large scale.

measurable.energy recently raised £4 million (US$5.2 million) in a Series A+ funding round co-led by Vertex Exploratory Fund, a fund under Vertex Holdings (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Temasek), and UK-based cleantech VC firm Clean Growth Fund. This capital injection will support R&D efforts, allowing the company to expand manufacturing capabilities and add new features to its smart sockets, with a particular focus on expansion in Southeast Asia, North America, and Europe.

Expansion in Southeast Asia

“One of the most promising aspects of our expansion strategy lies in Southeast Asia,” Williams adds. “We see considerable potential in markets like Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand, where the UK-standard socket is widely used. This compatibility, coupled with the region’s push toward energy efficiency and reduced carbon emissions, has created a favorable environment for measurable.energy’s technology.”

Also Read: 5 reasons why energy management is key to individual and organisational success

The venture plans to partner with local businesses and experts in Southeast Asia to streamline entry, leveraging their insights to ensure smooth adoption and local relevance.

Looking ahead, measurable.energy plans to launch a version of its smart socket compatible with US outlets, making strides toward the North American market.

Additionally, the startup is developing a desk extension module to provide users with more flexibility and connectivity, allowing the technology to integrate even further into daily operations.

The team is gearing up for a Series B funding round in 2025, setting ambitious milestones to enter new international markets, boost unit sales, and scale its R&D workforce.

As measurable.energy continues to expand and innovate, its impact on reducing energy waste and promoting sustainable practices could shape the future of energy management on a global scale.

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81RAVENS, the Singaporean company behind the free-to-play 3v3 arena shooter PARAVOX, has raised US$4.5 million in seed funding led by Japanese investors DIGITAL HEARTS HOLDINGS and GREE Ventures.

The funding will support the development and marketing of PARAVOX, which will launch on the Solana blockchain.

Also Read: From niche hobby to billion-dollar industry: The meteoric rise of esports

81RAVENS was founded in 2020 by a team of experienced game developers, publishers, and league organisers in Japan and Southeast Asia. Its inaugural title, PARAVOX, features a unique blend of movement, skill mastery, and tactical precision.

PARAVOX is currently in Global Open Alpha and claims to have clocked over 100,000 downloads on the Epic Games Store following its Private Alpha launch in Japan and Southeast Asia.

81RAVENS has chosen to deploy on the Solana blockchain. With its fast, scalable infrastructure and extremely low transaction costs, Solana enables real-time gameplay and smooth on-chain integrations, perfect for enhancing the player experience.

This year, PARAVOX hosted the PARAVOX Global Rapid Tournament (PGRT), its first major esports event, which featured a prize pool of 100 million yen and attracted over half a million viewers, with 23 esports teams participating.

81RAVENS claims that world-class professional teams from Japan, Southeast Asia, Europe, and Latin America, such as LOUD, ZETA DIVISON, and Blacklist International have already partnered with PARAVOX.

Also Read: For gamers by gamers: How Razer incorporates its understanding of user behaviour into product development

PCI, the second major esports tournament, is planned to take place in December, with top-tier teams like LOUD among the participants.

The game is currently being enhanced and improved in preparation for its Steam release, scheduled for the end of 2024.

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Cross-border payments have always been tricky territory. Traditional banking methods come with a higher cost, lengthy delays and security concerns. It can hinder growth for businesses with global suppliers and customers. This will only become more apparent in the coming years as globalisation continues to speed up.    

Crypto, for all its achievements and what it hopes to be, has created a new type of “border” related issue. Indeed, value is now locked within networks — call it cross-chain borders. The lack of a unified on-chain experience is preventing the adoption of crypto payments. Unified doesn’t equal centralised – an important distinction to make. 

The current crypto landscape is fragmented, with a steep learning curve for the everyday user. The many independent blockchains, and the need for token-specific payments, creates added complexities to on-chain  transactions. 

Achieving cross-chain interoperability doesn’t just elevate the global crypto industry – there are localised benefits for regions who embrace it. 

Asia-Pacific has the highest value of cross-border payments. In 2023, cross-border payments in Asia increased by over 30 per cent. It’s such a hot issue that four central banks in Southeast Asia have teamed up to build an instant cross-border retail payments platform. 

But big banks banding together isn’t the answer. Interoperable blockchains are. Blockchain technology will have its mainstream moment when different chains communicate seamlessly, so users can pay anyone, anytime, anywhere. 

And this technology already exists.

Solving financial fragmentation

Unified cross-chain payment platforms for crypto and fiat currencies exist, which removes the need for banks, multiple wallets, bridging or seed phrases. It’s underpinned by an omni-chain ID, a universal payment ID aggregating wallets, accounts, and DIDs – like a new swift code. 

Programmable payments and one-click cross-chain transactions simplify the user experience and makes financial transactions across borders effortless. With smoother cross-chain asset movement – regardless of currency, token, wallet, app or blockchain – the increase in value flow will lead to more liquidity and innovation. 

Users can bypass centralised exchanges for trading between different cryptocurrencies – further reducing the reliance on custodial platforms, fees, risks of exchange hacks, and the need to entrust third parties with private keys. 

This means an individual can use Bitcoin to participate in lending or staking on Ethereum-based DeFi protocols, through interoperability solutions such as wrapped tokens or cross-chain bridges. 

Being less dogmatic about our decentralised chain of choice (Bitcoin maxis vs Ethereum evangelists) will promote participation in different ecosystems and open up the space to people who are intimidated by crypto culture. A unified on-chain payments experience is the future. No single blockchain should dominate. 

Also Read: On-chain analytics firm Nansen acquires staking provider stakeWithUs

Benefits beyond banking 

Omni-chain infrastructure has the potential to extend far beyond purely financial transactions. It can revolutionise other industries that require cross-border payments such as supply chain management, healthcare, and entertainment. 

Companies can manage supply chains with greater efficiency by ensuring payments and data move seamlessly between multiple blockchains, improving operational efficiency. With the world’s reliance on Asia for consumer goods, the region is well-positioned to adopt blockchain technologies. 

With Southeast Asia being a key region for web3 gaming, the growing number of developers also stand to benefit from cross-chain interoperability. When blockchains can communicate seamlessly, it opens up new possibilities for applications to interact with multiple chains – without needing to manage the complexities of bridging between them. 

For example, developers can deploy decentralised finance applications that tap into liquidity across several blockchains, rather than being constrained to one ecosystem. This flexibility fosters a more dynamic and interconnected on-chain  environment, where developers can experiment and iterate faster, driving the next wave of blockchain-based innovations. 

The easier it is to build, the faster it’ll be to onboard new users into web3 – without users having to worry about what chain they’re on. 

The key to connecting people across borders and blockchains 

Interoperability is the missing component that will unlock crypto’s true potential, well beyond the industry itself. The decentralisation movement started with DeFi, but it failed to solve the fundamental flaws of cross-border transactions – with disparate blockchains recreating and repacking the silos of the past. 

By leveraging technologies that enable cross-chain interoperability, we can move away from centralised intermediaries, which was crypto’s original intention. 

It’s time to redefine crypto payment solutions and open web3 up to the world. 

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