Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Can today's power grid handle the explosive growth of AI data centers? Tesla Alum Drew Baglino, now founder & CEO of Heron Power, doesn't think so.
In this episode, he joins Lukas Biewald to talk about why scaling compute requires a fundamental overhaul of grid-to-chip infrastructure, not just bigger power plants.
They cover how Heron Power raised $140M to cut power losses in half, shrink massive oil-filled transformers by 100x, and unlock 35MW of extra compute for every gigawatt data center, and what that means for the future of AI energy efficiency.
Connect with us here:
Drew Baglino: linkedin.com/in/baglino
Heron Power: linkedin.com/company/heron-power-electronics
Lukas Biewald: linkedin.com/in/lbiewald
Weights and Biases: linkedin.com/company/wandb
00:00:00 Trailer & Introduction
00:02:04 Stanford, Joining Tesla, & Early Engineering
00:07:15 Early Interactions with Elon Musk & Battery Specs
00:12:57 Leadership Lessons, "Production Hell," & Engineering Mindset
00:26:15 Management Philosophy & Managing Project Timelines
00:38:00 Automotive Insights: Luxury Builds, Stability, & Autopilot
00:50:23 Grid Modernization & Why Power Rates Surged
01:03:02 Silicon Carbide, GaN, & Power Semiconductor Physics
01:10:33 Data Center Heat Losses & The Heron Link
01:22:16 Nuclear, Geothermal, & Solid-State Transformers
Can today's power grid handle the explosive growth of AI data centers? Tesla Alum Drew Baglino, now founder & CEO of Heron Power, doesn't think so.
In this episode, he joins Lukas Biewald to talk about why scaling compute requires a fundamental overhaul of grid-to-chip infrastructure, not just bigger power plants.
They cover how Heron Power raised $140M to cut power losses in half, shrink massive oil-filled transformers by 100x, and unlock 35MW of extra compute for every gigawatt data center, and what that means for the future of AI energy efficiency.
Connect with us here:
Drew Baglino: linkedin.com/in/baglino
Heron Power: linkedin.com/company/heron-power-electronics
Lukas Biewald: linkedin.com/in/lbiewald
Weights and Biases: linkedin.com/company/wandb
00:00:00 Trailer & Introduction
00:02:04 Stanford, Joining Tesla, & Early Engineering
00:07:15 Early Interactions with Elon Musk & Battery Specs
00:12:57 Leadership Lessons, "Production Hell," & Engineering Mindset
00:26:15 Management Philosophy & Managing Project Timelines
00:38:00 Automotive Insights: Luxury Builds, Stability, & Autopilot
00:50:23 Grid Modernization & Why Power Rates Surged
01:03:02 Silicon Carbide, GaN, & Power Semiconductor Physics
01:10:33 Data Center Heat Losses & The Heron Link
01:22:16 Nuclear, Geothermal, & Solid-State Transformers
