Tim Barat, an experienced lineman from Australia, found himself reconsidering his future in the electric utilities industry when he moved to the United States in 2013. Concerned about the dangers of working with high-voltage equipment, Barat’s wife urged him to pursue a safer alternative. He went back to school and earned a master’s degree in electrical engineering from UC Berkeley — but he never stopped thinking about power lines.

His solution was unconventional: rather than working on the lines, he decided to listen to them.

Listening to the Grid

Barat understood that humans can’t directly perceive electricity beyond the risk of electrocution — an obviously dangerous method. Linemen, like himself, rely heavily on indirect cues like sight, sound, and touch to detect electrical anomalies. They often hit poles with hammers to listen for changes in the sound that might suggest structural weakness. The problem? It’s a slow and expensive process.

“Some utilities spend nine figures per year on just these patrols alone,” Barat explained. Determined to find a better way, he turned his attention to the mechanical signals created by the physical infrastructure of the power grid.

The Birth of Gridware

Alongside co-founders Abdulrahman Bin Omar and Hall Chen, Barat launched Gridware, a company developing sensor devices designed to monitor the power grid by listening to it — literally.

The company’s innovative sensor is mounted on utility poles just below the power lines. Rather than tapping into the electricity directly, these devices detect mechanical perturbations like sound and vibrations. These are then analyzed by on-device AI and signal processing software trained to recognize telltale signs of different hazards — from a tree limb brushing against a cable, to vibration patterns caused by structural damage.

“We think of the grid like a giant guitar rather than just a circuit board,” Barat said. “It’s a physical thing. We need to monitor the physical attributes, too — not just voltage and current.”

Fast, Efficient, and Non-Invasive Technology

Each Gridware device is roughly the size of an iPad and powered via attached solar panels. Installation is quick and can be completed in under 15 minutes without the need to shut down power lines, making the solution highly scalable and non-disruptive.

Data about detected faults is transmitted via cellular or satellite networks to the cloud. In weak signal areas, devices relay information through nearby units. Because these smart sensors don’t physically connect to the power lines, they eliminate the risk traditionally associated with grid surveillance while dramatically reducing detection time.

From Prototype to Real-World Success

Before utilities agreed to install Gridware’s sensors, Barat had to prove just how effective they were. To do that, he built his own test grid using full-sized 55-foot poles and 200-foot spans. Then he spent years simulating every kind of outage he could think of — from blowing up transformers to dropping trees onto lines.

“I’ve had so many people watch how I blow up transformers, throw trees onto power lines, cut live power lines with bolt cutters — really doing a lot of risky activities to emulate those events,” he said. When asked how his wife felt about his hands-on testing methods, Barat admitted, “I got in trouble.”

Today, that rigorous testing has paid off. Gridware now monitors over 1,000 miles of power lines for 18 different utility companies from devices installed on more than 10,000 poles. Notable utility partners include PG&E and ConEd, who have helped refine and validate the devices’ accuracy in real-world settings.

Strong Financial Backing and a Bright Future

Gridware recently closed a $26.4 million Series A funding round led by Sequoia Capital, with participation from existing stakeholders Convective Capital, Fifty Years, Lowercarbon Capital, and True Ventures. “This raise was significantly easier in that we didn’t need it,” Barat remarked, adding that the company had been cash-flow positive the previous year.

The funding will enable Gridware to scale even further, enhance device capabilities, and expand into new markets. As aging grid infrastructure faces increasing threats from climate change-related events like wildfires and storms, the need for smarter, faster detection systems has never been greater.

The Future of Grid Monitoring

Gridware’s innovation represents a major step toward modernizing and securing America’s power grid. By using sound and vibration — two of the most overlooked indicators of electrical issues — the company has introduced a powerful new tool for utilities seeking to reduce downtime, response times, and inspection costs.

For Barat and his team, it’s the fulfillment of both a technical vision and a deeply personal mission. From the wild brushfires of Australia to the cutting-edge labs of Silicon Valley, Gridware’s journey highlights the importance of listening — sometimes quite literally — to the problems around us.