The archive · Developer & Business Tools · Strategic decision · 2020–2026
CivilGrid's bet: a Google Maps for what's buried underground
A former PG&E engineer left to map America's buried utilities; after a PG&E study found $60M in savings, Spark Capital led a $26M Series A.
CivilGrid
What the business is
CivilGrid aggregates data on underground utility assets, property ownership and environmental regulations into one collaborative map, then sells access to utilities, governments and civil engineering firms planning excavation.
Starting capital：$26M Series A led by Spark Capital (with Afore, A*, Ford Street Ventures, SNR and Energy Impact Partners)
How it started
Josh Mackanic spent a decade as a PG&E engineer, then left after a job was shut down for three days by an unidentified pipe in an excavation — a delay he said cost $60,000. He founded CivilGrid in 2020 on the observation that roughly 200,000 utility strikes happen every year in the US because no single utility sees what everyone else has buried.
What happened
CivilGrid began selling access to its combined map to utilities, governments and civil engineering firms, including Mackanic's former employer. A PG&E case study of 1,600 planned gas distribution projects found about $60M in avoidable paving costs by using the platform early in planning. In August 2026 CivilGrid closed a $26M Series A led by Spark Capital; Energy Impact Partners, whose LPs include utilities, joined as a signal of industry confidence.
How it ended up
Still scaling as of 2026-09-02: the Series A is earmarked for more customers and broader capability, and Mackanic's stated roadmap moves beyond data to recommending where a pipe should go and automating the permits needed to build it.
Background
CivilGrid was founded in 2020 by Josh Mackanic, a former Pacific Gas and Electric engineer, after a three-day excavation shutdown over an unidentified pipe cost his project an estimated $60,000. His premise: the US has roughly 200,000 utility strikes a year because every utility has detailed records of its own lines but almost no visibility into pipes owned by others.
The product is a data layer Mackanic calls the Google Maps for what's underground. CivilGrid combines utility asset records, property ownership and environmental regulations into one collaborative map and sells access to utilities, governments and civil engineering firms — including PG&E, his former employer, which runs relatively lean and had no budget to build the map itself.
The proof of value came from a PG&E case study: across 1,600 planned gas distribution projects, using CivilGrid identified an estimated $60 million in avoidable paving costs. In August 2026 the startup raised a $26 million Series A led by Spark Capital, with participation from Afore, A*, Ford Street Ventures, SNR and Energy Impact Partners — a fund whose LPs include utilities.
As of 2026-09-02 CivilGrid is still scaling. Mackanic describes the map as the entry point: once engineers have the constraints, he argues, the company can recommend where to put a pipe and eventually file the permits, turning an underground-data product into broader automation of America's construction red tape.
What has to be true
- The problem was measured in money the customer already felt: PG&E's own study showed $60M of avoidable paving cost across 1,600 projects, giving the sales pitch a number.
- An outside vendor could do what the utility could not: utilities run lean and have no incentive to fund a map of other companies' pipes, so CivilGrid sold the shared layer instead.
- The wedge was complementary data, not competing with the utility: combining everyone's records created a product no single owner could build alone.
- Industry capital followed industry use: Energy Impact Partners, whose LPs are utilities, joined the round after PG&E adopted the platform.
What can be applied
Utilities know their own pipes, not others', so the fix came from outside: aggregate scattered records into one map, prove savings on the buyer's own projects, then sell access to everyone who digs.
Aftermath
As of 2026-09-02 CivilGrid has closed a $26M Series A led by Spark Capital, counts PG&E among its utility, government and engineering-firm customers, and cites a PG&E case study showing $60M in avoidable paving costs across 1,600 planned gas distribution projects. The company says the new capital will expand its customer base, and its stated next step is automating site recommendations and permit filings on top of the underground-data layer.
Sources
- This former PG&E engineer is building a 'Google Maps for the underground'
- Former PG&E engineer builds 'Google Maps' for underground utilities
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