Founders: Greg Jackson (CEO), Stuart Jackson, James Eddison Launched: 2016 Headquarters: London Funding: $2 billion Valuation: $7.8 billion Key technologies: Artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, machine learning Industry: Energy Previous appearances on Disruptor 50 List: 1 (No. 8 in 2023)
Persephone Kavallines
Aiming to spark further transition to renewable energy, British-based power conglomerate Octopus Energy pulled in $800 million in new funding last year to expand internationally and is leveraging AI technology in its cleantech business.
The fast-growth innovator is relying on Uber-like digital technology for its solar, wind, smart grids and meters, and offering flexible pricing based on conserving energy and balancing demands on the grid. The company also has rolled into electric vehicles, offering EV leasing packages, installation of home chargers, and mobile apps for EV owners to monitor grid signals and get discounts.
Founded in 2016 by digital entrepreneur and angel investor Greg Jackson, Octopus Energy is seeking to disrupt traditional utilities with a tech-driven approach using AI, machine learning, cloud computing and data analytics. Last March, the utility introduced an in-house developed, gen AI-powered service, Magic Ink, to provide tailored customer interactions and help prevent power overloads.
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Profitable and with operations spanning 18 countries, the company has more than doubled its retail business over the past two years and currently serves more than 7.2 million customers and 40,000 business accounts. The group’s Kraken software and data analytics system, which helps utilities track energy usage for efficiency, has been licensed to 54 million international accounts, up from 17 million in 2020, and the goal is to reach 100 million by 2027.
Last December, Octopus Energy received an $800 million funding boost from Al Gore’s renewable and sustainable energy investment firm and other existing investors, lifting the company’s valuation to $7.8 billion, a 60% increase from a prior investment round in 2021. In November, Octopus launched a $3.7 billion fund with Japanese utility Tokyo Gas to invest in offshore wind over the rest of this decade.
Energy investments grew worldwide to $2.8 trillion in 2023, with more than $1.2 trillion going to clean energy, according to the International Energy Agency. Renewables’ share of power generation is projected to rise to 35% by 2025 from 29% today.
Octopus Energy is pursuing the clean energy movement on a global scale through acquisitions and licensing deals. Over the past few years, the company has launched operations in several developed markets including Australia and Germany. The electricity provider has big ambitions for the U.S. market. It acquired Silicon Valley-based AI and machine learning startup Evolve Energy in 2020 and established a U.S. subsidiary in energy-centric Houston. Signally its expansion strategy, the company signed a licensing deal last June to begin offering its Kraken technology platform to U.S. licensees, with the first going to North American energy manager Tenaska Power Services in Texas for its battery sites.
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A team of white hat European hackers using their brains, keyboards, and a couple of bits and baubles from eBay managed to take control of a 2020 Nissan LEAF and violate just about every privacy and safety regulation in the process.
The best part: they recorded the whole thing.
Budapest-based cybersecurity experts PCAutomotive were able to exploit a number of vulnerabilities in a 2020 Nissan LEAF that enabled the white hat team to geolocate and track the car, record the texts and conversations happening inside the car, playing media back through the car’s speakers, and even (this is the genuinely terrifying dangerous part) turning the steering wheel while the car was moving. (!?)
Maybe the scariest part of this hack, however, is how seemingly easy it was to pull off by starting with a “test bench simulator” built using parts from eBay and exploiting a vulnerability in the LEAF’s DNS C2 channel and Bluetooth protocol.
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The PCAutomotive team gave a hugely detailed 118-page presentation of their exploit at black hat Asia 2025, which we’ve included at the bottom of this post, in case the original link goes dead. If you’re into that sort of thing, the fun stuff starts around page 27. And, if you’re not, just know that all the vulnerabilities were disclosed to Nissan and its suppliers between 02AUG2023 and 12SEP2024 (p. 116/118), and the “attack” itself can be seen in the video below that. Enjoy!
Summary of vulnerabilities
CVE-2025-32056 – Anti-Theft bypass
CVE-2025-32057 – app_redbend: MiTM attack
CVE-2025-32058 – v850: Stack Overflow in CBR processing
CVE-2025-32059 – Stack buffer overflow leading to RCE [0]
CVE-2025-32060 – Absence of a kernel module signature verification
CVE-2025-32061 – Stack buffer overflow leading to RCE [1]
CVE-2025-32062 – Stack buffer overflow leading to RCE [2]
PCA_NISSAN_009 – Improper traffic filtration between CAN buses
CVE-2025-32063 – Persistence for Wi-Fi network
PCA_NISSAN_012 – Persistence through CVE-2017-7932 in HAB of i.MX 6
Unfortunately, this is also one of those posts that some of the more clueless anti-EV hysterics will point to and say, “See!? EVs can get hacked!” But the reality is that virtually any car with electric power steering (EPS), electronic throttle controls, brake-by-wire, etc. can be hacked in a similar way. But, while steering a target’s car into an oncoming semi might be a great way to pull off a covert CIA assassination, the more worrying issue here is the breach of privacy and recording – unless you want to spend some time in El Salvadoran prison, I guess.
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A major new EV battery factory is being built in Sunderland, bringing 1,000 new jobs with it. AESC, Nissan’s battery partner, is behind the £1 billion ($1.33 billion) plant, which will boost the UK’s EV battery production by six times, enough to power 100,000 electric cars annually.
The 12 GWh capacity plant, AESC’s second battery plant in Sunderland, will be powered by 100% net-zero carbon energy. That big jump in capacity helps position Britain as a global player in EV manufacturing while pushing forward the country’s net-zero goals.
The investment is getting a serious financial lift from the British government. Through a combination of support from the National Wealth Fund and UK Export Finance, the project is unlocking £680 million in financing from major banks, including HSBC, Standard Chartered, SMBC Group, Societe Generale, and BBVA, that covers the construction and operation of the battery factory. Another £320 million is coming from private investment and fresh equity from AESC. On top of all that, the government’s Automotive Transformation Fund is pitching in with £150 million in grant funding.
This deal follows closely on the heels of the new UK-US trade agreement announced a day earlier, which cuts car export tariffs from 27.5% down to 10% for up to 100,000 UK-made vehicles – nearly the total number exported last year. That move could save car companies hundreds of millions of pounds and help protect good-paying jobs in manufacturing hubs like Sunderland.
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Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves visited AESC in Sunderland, where she met with staff and local leaders to discuss what this means for the Northeast and the British car industry.
“This investment follows hot on the heels of yesterday’s landmark economic deal with the US, which will save thousands of jobs in the industry,” Reeves said.
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It’s about the future of their jobs. Ford workers at two plants in western Germany are set to go on strike on Wednesday, their works council chief said on Monday.
Ford is facing a worker strike in Germany
In November, Ford announced it would cut around 4,000 jobs in Europe by 2027 as part of a restructuring, primarily in Germany and the UK. That’s still about 14% of its European workforce.
The American automaker said the move comes after it has incurred “significant losses” in recent years and a “highly disruptive market” with new EVs quickly gaining market share.
Ford blamed slower-than-expected demand for electric vehicles and a weak economic situation. It also plans to slow production at its Cologne EV plant, where the electric Explorer and Capri are built.
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Last week, IG Metall members voted in favor of “industrial action” with 93.5% of votes in favor of a strike. “Ford must act now—otherwise, we will go through with it,” said Kerstin D. Klein, Chief Representative of IG Metall Cologne-Leverkusen.
Ford Explorer EV production in Cologne (Source: Ford)
Ford is facing an influx of new competition, including Chinese EV makers like BYD. BYD’s overseas sales are surging with a fifth straight month of growth in April.
BYD even outsold Tesla in Germany last month, with 1,566 vehicles registered. In comparison, Tesla had just 855, and Ford saw 9,534 registrations.
Ford’s electric vehicles in Europe from left to right: Puma Gen-E, Explorer, Capri, and Mustang Mach-E (Source: Ford)
On top of this, Ford, like most of the industry, is preparing for more disruption with Trump’s auto tariffs. After releasing Q1 earnings last week, Ford warned that the tariffs could cost up to $2.5 billion this year.
During Ford’s earnings call, CFO Sherry House said that recent EV launches in Europe, including the Explorer, Capri, and Puma Gen-E, helped more than double Model e’s wholesale volume in Q1.
After early success in the US, Ford also launched its “Power Promise” promotion in Europe, offering EV buyers a free home charger and several other perks.