GE Vernova Acquires Alteia: Bringing Visual Intelligence To The Grid
On July 21, 2025, GE Vernova announced its agreement to acquire Alteia, a French visual AI software provider. While financial terms were not disclosed, the deal is expected to close on August 1. Alteia’s technology, already part of GE Vernova’s GridOS Visual Intelligence platform, will now be fully integrated in-house to accelerate innovation and utility-focused AI development.
As utilities face rising pressure from extreme weather, aging infrastructure and skyrocketing power demand (especially from data centres and AI workloads), the need for smarter, faster grid insight has never been greater. Alteia specializes in turning visual data – from drones, satellites, LiDAR and more – into actionable intelligence.
This means utilities can now use computer vision to detect vegetation risks, storm damage, asset deterioration and other grid vulnerabilities in near real time. What used to require manual inspections across thousands of miles can now be done digitally, quickly and with far greater precision.
Just as importantly, this visual intelligence adds a complementary layer of real-world context to the data utilities already collect through smart meters, IoT sensors, SCADA and cloud-based systems. It enriches decision-making by tying physical reality – what's actually happening in the field – to the digital insights utilities rely on.
What this means for utilities
Visual intelligence allows utilities to process and interpret visual data – such as images and video – from sources like drones, satellites, cameras and smartphones. Users can then integrate these insights with other systems and external sources, including GIS, weather feeds and ADMS, to provide additional context to digital network models. The aim is to enhance situational awareness by enabling the ingestion, visualization and analysis of real-world conditions across the grid. Visual intelligence allows utilities to:
- Anticipate outages by identifying potential risks before failure occurs.
- Manage vegetation to avoid disruptions and mitigate wildfires.
- Accelerate storm recovery through rapid damage assessment from aerial imagery.
- Automate inspections to reduce labour-intensive fieldwork.
- Integrate data into operations so that insights lead to action.
By embedding Alteia’s capabilities directly into GridOS, GE Vernova is giving utilities a real-time visual data layer and new way to see – and manage – their grid infrastructure.
This development also aligns with broader trends identified in our research on AI in geospatial data for climate analysis. As we’ve noted, AI is expanding the scope and usability of geospatial data, enabling more granular real-time environmental and infrastructure insights. The integration of visual intelligence into grid operations reflects that same trajectory, where AI-driven geospatial analysis supports not just operational efficiency but also climate resilience and adaptation planning for utilities.
About The Author

Hector Aguirre
Industry Analyst