Geothermal Startup Zanskar Raises $115M to Deploy AI-Powered Exploration in Nevada

Zanskar, a Salt Lake City-based geothermal company, has closed a $115 million private funding round led by Spring Lane Capital to accelerate exploration of hidden geothermal fields, including Big Blind in Esmeralda County, Nevada. The company uses proprietary AI models trained on decades of geological data to identify heat reservoirs without relying on surface indicators like hot springs or fumaroles. The new capital will support drilling and development of multiple geothermal power plants before 2030. At Big Blind, Zanskar drilled two wells reaching 2,700 feet, discovering a reservoir with temperatures exceeding 250°F. The company estimates the site could power tens of thousands of homes and plans to build production facilities within three to five years. Despite grid interconnection delays, Zanskar says its AI-driven approach reduces exploration risk and costs compared to enhanced geothermal systems. Since 2019, Zanskar has raised $180 million in equity funding. Its model combines historical oil-and-gas survey data with machine learning to predict subsurface heat, improving accuracy over time. The company now identifies dozens of high-potential sites across the Western U.S., where geothermal supplies less than 1% of national electricity—mostly from aging 1980s-era plants. Experts say Zanskar’s method could unlock hundreds of gigawatts of untapped clean energy, especially as demand surges from AI data centers, EV manufacturing, and decarbonization efforts.