For years, their sophisticated approach struggled to find traction. Customers had invested heavily in legacy systems and weren’t eager to replace expensive infrastructure—a classic sunk cost fallacy that forced Verdigris to develop backward-compatible solutions. The IoT-connected, cloud-based system they initially envisioned faced headwinds as customers demanded not just data, but actionable insights that were “unfathomably difficult to build” at the time.

Then came 2023 and the AI/LLM revolution. Suddenly, the robust sensor technology and high-frequency data collection that had seemed over-engineered for the market became exactly what was needed. “We were very lucky,” Mark admits. “The capability we had previously built suddenly became relevant thanks to AI and its ability to extract insights from extensive data.”

But perhaps more remarkable than their technical pivot has been their strategic one. Verdigris remains deeply committed to sustainability—their internal mission centers on reducing CO2 emissions and electricity’s role in climate change. Yet externally, they’ve been careful to position their product offering purely on business merit: saving energy means saving money, regardless of environmental motivations.

This approach proved prescient when political winds shifted. The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) had been an accelerant, driving conversations with major clients like Microsoft and Google. But as climate initiatives faced headwinds with the administration change, Verdigris made a surprising discovery: their customer base remained unchanged—only the marketing message needed adjusting. While sustainability had been the launch point with customers under the prior administration, the demand for intelligent data to reduce energy consumption remains just as relevant in today’s power-hungry data center discussions.