Octopus Energy is set to spin off its Kraken Technologies arm as a standalone company after a deal to sell a stake in the platform valued it at $8.65bn (£6.4bn).
The energy giant, Britain's biggest gas and electricity supplier, has sold a $1bn stake in the AI-based division to a group of investors led by New York-based D1 Capital Partners.
The move paves the way for Kraken to be demerged from Octopus, and for a potential stock market flotation for the business in the future.
Octopus founder and chief executive Greg Jackson told the BBC there was "every chance" Kraken would list its shares "in the medium term", with the location of the flotation "between London and the US".
Kraken uses AI to automate customer service and billing for energy companies and can manage when customers use energy, rewarding them for reducing consumption at peak times.
