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Opower, founded in 2007 by Harvard graduates Dan Yates and Alex Laskey, operates as a software-as-a-service (SaaS) provider focused on the utility sector. The company's inception was rooted in the application of behavioral science to address energy efficiency, a concept Laskey explored after being influenced by Robert Cialdini's book, "Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion". Yates brought prior entrepreneurial experience, having founded and successfully exited an educational software company, Edusoft. Initially named Positive Energy, the venture was built on a simple yet powerful premise: motivating consumers to reduce energy consumption by showing them how their usage compares to their neighbors.

The firm's core business involves partnering with utility companies to provide a customer engagement platform that analyzes energy data and delivers personalized feedback to households. Revenue is generated by charging these utility partners for the software service, which helps them meet regulatory efficiency targets, reduce service costs, and improve customer satisfaction. The platform processes vast amounts of meter data to provide insights without requiring any in-home hardware installation. Opower's flagship product is its Home Energy Report, a communication tool sent via mail, web, or mobile, that employs social norms by comparing a household's energy use to that of similar homes. These reports include targeted tips and visual cues, such as smiley faces for efficient homes, to nudge consumers toward lower energy consumption, consistently achieving savings of 1.5% to 2.5% per household.

Significant milestones in the company's trajectory include a $50 million funding round in 2010 led by major venture capital firms and a successful initial public offering (IPO) in April 2014. Despite its growth and partnerships with over 100 global utilities, the company faced market pressures, which culminated in its acquisition by Oracle in May 2016 for approximately $532 million. Now integrated into the Oracle Utilities global business unit, the Opower platform continues to leverage its big data analytics and behavioral science foundation to enhance the relationship between utilities and their customers.

Keywords: energy efficiency, behavioral science, SaaS, utility software, customer engagement platform, Opower, Dan Yates, Alex Laskey, Oracle Utilities, home energy reports, energy data analytics, demand-side management, smart grid data, energy conservation, utility customer experience, big data analytics, behavioral economics, energy savings, cleantech, regulatory compliance