For millions of people, reliable electricity is not a guarantee. In many communities powered by solar mini-grids, evening demand surges routinely trigger blackouts, pushing operators to fall back on costly, polluting diesel generators.
Evardi Energy, a startup co-founded by economics and cognitive science student Diva Bhartesh Shah, aims to transform this broken system into one with reliable power that is resistant to blackouts. Their solution involves using AI to predict demand surges before they occur, allowing operators to adjust usage as needed.
Shah co-founded Evardi in September 2025 with economics, philosophy and computer science student Evan Davis and chemical engineering student Aarya Borele. Shah met with the UC Regents during the fall semester to discuss the student group's mission and how the University of California can enhance its support for student entrepreneurs like themselves.
Shah spoke with Berkeley Social Sciences about the global impact of Evardi and how meeting with the UC Regents highlighted the UC's commitment to supporting student-led solutions for the world's most pressing challenges. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Can you tell me more about Evardi Energy and the problem it aims to address?
Diva Bhartesh Shah: Evardi Energy is making renewable power reliable for communities that need it most. This includes areas in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Millions of people have "electricity access," but the power goes out every evening when demand suddenly increases. Mini-grids, which are small solar-powered grids for rural communities, fail when too many households use appliances at the same time. Operators have to switch to diesel, which is costly, polluting and still unreliable.
We are creating an AI system that can predict these demand spikes before they occur and help operators adjust usage in real time. Our goal is straightforward: If we can anticipate the moments when the grid is at risk, we can prevent blackouts, reduce diesel use and make clean energy reliable for the next billion electricity users.
What made you want to focus on this area?
Diva Bhartesh Shah: All of our co-founders come from places where reliable electricity shapes daily life. I grew up in Kenya, where blackouts were not just annoying; they affected our ability to study at night or even keep food fresh. My co-founder Aarya grew up in Mumbai, where rapid industrial growth clashed with weak energy systems. Evan grew up in California, seeing the grid struggle during heat waves, wildfires and an increase in renewable energy use. Our individual expertise in fields like machine learning, chemical engineering and entrepreneurship come together to make this project succeed.
We each noticed a different part of the same global issue: decentralized energy allows for competitive and renewable development in underserved areas, but they're unable to handle demand volatility. Our work at Evardi connects our home countries, our academic interests and our belief that innovation is the primary driver of social good.
What kind of impact do you hope your work will have?
Diva Bhartesh Shah: We hope Evardi offers underserved communities something many developed regions take for granted: the assurance that when they flip a switch, the lights will stay on. In Sub-Saharan Africa, over 340 million children do not have reliable electricity at home. Additionally, 75% of small businesses experience weekly outages that reduce revenue by an average of 8.3%. A single blackout can mean lost study hours, spoiled vaccines or a small shop closing for the day.
Stabilizing even one mini-grid can change a community. Hundreds of students gain reliable evening study time. Clinics can safely store medicine. Families can plan their evenings without worrying about power loss. When scaled across regions, demand intelligence could prevent millions of tons of CO2 emissions each year by cutting down on diesel use, a significant and often overlooked source of climate pollution.
Beyond reliability, we want families to save money. Currently, low-income households often pay the most for the least reliable electricity. They sometimes spend 10 times more for backup generators compared to grid-connected homes. By making energy predictable and efficient, we reduce these hidden costs. The communities bearing the highest energy burden should be the first to benefit, and Evardi exists to make that change possible.
You've spoken with some big potential clients and partners — what was that experience like for you as students?
Diva Bhartesh Shah: It's been an amazing experience. Talking with national grid operators, clean-tech founders, and energy ministries felt daunting at first. However, we soon understood how much the problem resonates throughout the industry. These organizations face demand volatility daily, and since the stakes are so high, they are very careful about which tools they consider. It made it even more significant that they wanted to hear from us.
What stood out most was their willingness to collaborate. They shared operational insights, provided access to real data and even invited us to visit their sites. As students, it's incredibly uplifting to have leaders at that level take our work seriously, not just because we're students, but because they truly see potential in what we're creating. This experience reinforced that we're tackling an important issue and that our perspective can offer something valuable to the future of energy reliability.
Can you share a bit about your recent experience meeting with the UC Regents?
Diva Bhartesh Shah: Meeting with the UC Regents was an amazing experience. It was the first time I had the chance to share not only our project, but also the larger journey I've had within Berkeley's entrepreneurship ecosystem. They asked thoughtful questions about global energy access, climate resilience and how our technology might eventually support UC's energy goals. For me, as a Kenyan student, it felt significant to bring a problem from home into that room and see it taken seriously. Additionally, it was a great opportunity to network with people who not only understood our mission but were also excited about where it could go next.
What impressed me the most was their real interest in how the UC could keep helping students who are building projects that make a difference. We discussed the value of entrepreneurship skills, even for students who don't plan to become founders. Skills like creative problem-solving, interdisciplinary thinking and resilience are important.
Did the conversation give you any new ideas about how the University of California could support projects like yours?
Diva Bhartesh Shah: The conversation made it crystal clear that entrepreneurship at UC Berkeley is about much more than just launching startups, it's about empowering students to experiment, fail, pivot and build with world-class researchers. We left with an increased appreciation for how Berkeley can continue to strengthen its role as a launchpad for global technology with impact.
The Regents discussed expanding support for student entrepreneurs by creating more opportunities for students to engage with overseas communities; making industrial real-world data available to students; and creating formal pathways that link Berkeley's research labs with student entrepreneurs. They also expressed the importance of cross-disciplinary mentorship from graduates, faculty and students across all fields. Programs taught by alumni and faculty working in these areas, like BASICS (Berkeley Accelerator & Startup Incubator in Cognitive Science) and SCET (Sutardja Center for Entrepreneurship & Technology), have already been transformative to us in the shaping of our project and connecting us with the right mentors.
The conversation left us optimistic: Berkeley is actively helping shape the next generation of builders working on the world's most pressing challenges.
