Nextpower
American energy-technology company supplying solar tracking, controls, foundations, software, and related infrastructure for utility-scale and distributed solar power plants.
Last updated October 14, 2026
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Overview
Nextpower Inc., formerly known as Nextracker Inc., is an American energy-technology company headquartered in Fremont, California. The business began in 2014 when Solaria Corporation spun out its solar-tracker technology into a separate company. It initially focused on utility-scale photovoltaic tracking systems, particularly decentralized single-axis trackers that allow individual rows of solar modules to move and respond independently to changing site and weather conditions. The company was led in its early years by Dan Shugar, who served as chief executive officer. Flex acquired Nextracker in 2015 for $330 million, giving the tracker business access to a large global manufacturing and supply-chain platform. The company continued to develop its own engineering, software, project-support, and manufacturing capabilities while operating within the broader Flex ecosystem. In 2016, it acquired BrightBox Technologies, a company working on predictive modeling and machine-learning applications. That transaction contributed to the development of TrueCapture, an intelligent tracker-control system launched in 2017. TrueCapture continually adjusts control algorithms for individual solar-array rows using local site and weather information; the company reported potential energy gains of approximately 2% to 6% in suitable applications. Its principal hardware portfolio centers on single-axis trackers, including systems designed to follow uneven terrain with less grading. This terrain-following approach is intended to lower civil-works requirements, reduce disturbance to project sites, and make difficult landscapes more suitable for large solar installations. The company has also developed controls and software that monitor weather, identify operational blind spots, coordinate row positioning, and optimize energy production. A cloud-response function introduced in 2023 was designed to adjust tracker behavior as cloud cover moves across a plant. In 2024, the company introduced weather-informed stow technology intended to move panels into protective positions before hailstorms and to stow equipment during grid outages without requiring manual intervention. Nextpower has expanded beyond tracker hardware through acquisitions in foundations, electrical balance-of-system equipment, artificial intelligence, robotics, inspection, and solar-plant operations and maintenance. Acquisitions and related transactions have included BrightBox Technologies, Solar Pile International, Ojjo, SenseHawk IP, Bentek Corporation, Origami Solar, Amir Robotics, and Onsight Technology. The company has also pursued regional manufacturing and joint-venture strategies, including a Saudi Arabian venture with Abunayyan Holding to serve the Middle East and North Africa. Manufacturing capacity grew substantially during the early 2020s. Between January 2021 and August 2024, the company expanded to more than 20 United States manufacturing lines across states including Texas, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Tennessee, and Nevada. It reported global capacity of approximately 1,000 megawatts per week as of March 31, 2024, with support for as much as 50 gigawatts of annual shipments. The company also reported more than 600 patents related to solar-tracking hardware systems as of that date. The company became publicly traded in February 2023, raising $638 million in its initial public offering and listing Class A common stock on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol NXT. Because the supplied source describes the offering and valuation but does not provide a direct financial-source URL, those figures are recorded only in the historical narrative and not as structured financial data. In 2025, the company expanded into artificial intelligence and robotics and appointed Francesco Borrelli as its first Chief AI and Robotics Officer. On November 12, 2025, it rebranded from Nextracker to Nextpower to signal a broader role as an energy-technology platform serving utility-sc…
History
Nextpower originated in 2014 as Nextracker, after Solaria Corporation separated its solar-tracker technology into a new company. Dan Shugar became the chief executive during the company’s formative period. The new business concentrated on photovoltaic tracking systems for large solar plants, with an emphasis on decentralized single-axis architecture. Instead of linking an entire plant to a single control arrangement, its design gives each row a motor and control system, allowing the rows to respond more independently to terrain, weather, and operating conditions. Flex acquired Nextracker in 2015 for $330 million. The transaction connected the tracker business with Flex’s international manufacturing and supply-chain infrastructure. In 2016, Nextracker acquired BrightBox Technologies, a Berkeley company focused on predictive modeling and machine learning. The resulting software work supported TrueCapture, introduced in 2017 as a system that continually refines tracker behavior using site-specific and weather-related information. The company described the system as capable of producing energy gains of roughly 2% to 6% in appropriate installations. During the early 2020s, Nextracker broadened both its manufacturing footprint and its technology scope. It added more than 20 U.S. manufacturing lines between January 2021 and August 2024, including facilities in Texas, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Tennessee, and Nevada. As of March 31, 2024, it reported global manufacturing capacity of approximately 1,000 megawatts per week and support for up to 50 gigawatts of annual shipments. The company also reported a portfolio of more than 600 patents covering tracker hardware and related yield-enhancement, cost-reduction, and application-expansion technologies. The company’s engineering strategy increasingly addressed difficult project conditions. Terrain-following trackers were designed to reduce grading and adapt to natural site contours. Its software monitored weather and equipment conditions, helped identify blind spots, and controlled row positions to improve plant output. A cloud-response feature added in 2023 was intended to adjust tracking as cloud cover moved through a solar field. In 2024, the company presented a weather-forecast-informed stow capability that could place modules in protective positions before hailstorms and could also respond automatically to grid outages. These developments reflected the industry’s growing concern with extreme weather, equipment damage, insurance costs, and plant availability. Nextracker became a public company in February 2023. It sold Class A shares in an initial public offering and began trading on Nasdaq under the symbol NXT. The listing provided a new source of public-market capital while preserving the company’s focus on utility-scale solar infrastructure. The company also expanded its educational and service activity through PowerworX Academy, which trains solar-plant personnel in installation, commissioning, operations, and maintenance. Acquisitions after 2023 moved the business beyond tracker structures. In 2024, the company acquired Solar Pile International and Ojjo, adding solar-foundation products and services for different soil and terrain conditions. It also acquired SenseHawk IP, whose capabilities involved artificial-intelligence-supported drone data and three-dimensional project modeling. In 2025, the company acquired Bentek Corporation, a manufacturer of pre-assembled electrical balance-of-system equipment, and purchased Origami Solar, a steel-frame technology company. It also expanded its artificial-intelligence and robotics portfolio through Amir Robotics and Onsight Technology, following the SenseHawk transaction. These additions addressed robotic cleaning, automated inspection, fire detection, modeling, and electrical collection systems. The company’s geographic strategy included a joint venture with Saudi Arabia’s Abunayyan Holding. Nextracker Arabia was created to manufacture and supply tracking systems and controls in Saudi Arabia and the broader Middle East and North Africa region. The company also supported research and training initiatives in Brazil, including the Brazil Center for Solar Excellence, and participated in projects and partnerships involving severe-weather testing, agrivoltaics, low-carbon manufacturing, and solar access in India. On November 12, 2025, the company adopted the name Nextpower. The rebrand represented management’s description of a transition from a specialist solar-tracking supplier to a broader energy-technology platform for utility-scale and distributed-generation solar. The reported 2025 strategy also included an artificial-intelligence and robotics division, led by Francesco Borrelli as the first Chief AI and Robotics Officer. Later reported transactions and initiatives extended the platform toward battery storage, power conversion, fixed-tilt systems, carports, agrivoltaics, floating photovoltaics, and data-center power applications. A 2026 investor lawsuit was dismissed after the court concluded that the complaint did not adequately show that the challenged company statements were false or misleading.
- 2025
The company adopts the Nextpower name
[1]The November 12 rebrand presents the business as a broader energy-technology platform rather than solely a solar-tracker company.
- 2024
Foundation and digital capabilities expand
[1]The company acquires Solar Pile International, Ojjo, and SenseHawk IP and introduces lower-carbon tracker and weather-protection technologies.
- 2023
Nextracker lists on Nasdaq
[1]The company completes an initial public offering and begins trading under the ticker NXT.
- 2017
TrueCapture launches
[1]Nextracker launches an intelligent control system that adapts tracker behavior to site and weather conditions.
- 2016
BrightBox Technologies is acquired
[1]The acquisition adds predictive modeling and machine-learning capabilities.
- 2015
Flex acquires Nextracker
[1]Flex purchases the tracker company, connecting it to Flex’s global manufacturing and supply-chain platform.
- 2014
Nextracker is established as a Solaria spin-off
[1]Solaria Corporation separates its tracker technology into Nextracker Inc., focused on photovoltaic tracking systems.
Products and positioning
A full-platform solar and energy-technology provider combining tracker hardware, digital controls, foundations, electrical infrastructure, artificial intelligence, robotics, and services for utility-scale and distributed-generation projects.
Solar tracking hardware · 2014
Single-axis solar trackers
The company’s core hardware consists of decentralized single-axis tracker systems for utility-scale photovoltaic plants. Each panel row can have its own motor and control arrangement, enabling more granular responses to terrain, weather, shading, and operational conditions than a single centralized mechanism. The systems are designed to increase energy production by keeping modules oriented toward the sun while managing structural and installation requirements across large solar fields.
Tracker-control software · 2017
TrueCapture
TrueCapture is an intelligent tracker-control platform developed after the BrightBox Technologies acquisition. It uses site information and changing weather conditions to refine the control behavior of individual solar-array rows. The company has described the system as capable of producing energy gains of approximately 2% to 6% in suitable deployments, although performance depends on project design, location, weather, and operating conditions.
Solar tracking hardware
Terrain-following trackers
Terrain-following tracker systems are designed to follow natural variations in a project site rather than requiring extensive flattening. By reducing grading requirements, the technology can lower civil-construction work, reduce site disturbance, and expand the range of landscapes that can accommodate utility-scale solar arrays. The approach is particularly relevant to projects facing complex topography or environmental constraints.
Solar tracker protection and controls · 2024
Weather-informed stow technology
Introduced in 2024, this technology uses weather-forecast information and automated controls to move solar modules into a protective stow position before hailstorms. The same type of automated response can be used during grid outages. Its purpose is to reduce exposure to severe-weather damage and lessen the need for manual intervention at large, geographically distributed solar plants.
Solar-plant training
PowerworX Academy
PowerworX Academy provides training for utility-scale solar operators and field personnel. Instruction covers tracker installation, commissioning, operations, and maintenance. The program is intended to improve the quality and consistency of project deployment and long-term plant operation, and graduates can receive professional-development credits recognized by the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners.
Controversies
2026
Investor class-action complaint dismissed
A proposed investor class action against Nextpower and several executives alleged that adverse facts about the company’s business and operations had not been disclosed. The federal court dismissed the complaint, finding that the plaintiffs had not adequately demonstrated that the challenged statements were false or misleading.
2021
Solar FlexRack and Nextracker settle patent lawsuit
Solar FlexRack announced that it had settled a lawsuit brought against it and Northern States Metals by Nextracker. Solar FlexRack also agreed to dismiss its patent-invalidity claims; Northern States Metals denied infringement, and the settlement involved nominal payments. The settlement is not a determination that infringement occurred.
Marketing campaigns
- 2025Eldorado Solar agrivoltaics project
United States
The company worked with SOLV Energy on the 342-MWDC Eldorado Solar project in Illinois, combining utility-scale solar with row-crop agriculture.
Outcome. The project was described as an early large-scale U.S. row-crop agrivoltaics installation, with perennial grain planned beneath part of the array.
- 2025CALNEXT Center for Solar Energy Research
United States
The company and UC Berkeley Engineering established a research center focused on improving solar-plant performance and operations.
Outcome. The company committed a $6.5 million gift to support the center’s research program.
- 2023Solar access partnership with Samarthanam Trust
India
The company partnered with Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled to install 6-kilowatt photovoltaic systems at two government primary health centers in Telangana.
Outcome. The donated systems were intended to support healthcare services for underserved communities in the region.
- 2023NREL severe-weather tracker research
United States
NREL and the company worked on a large-scale study of photovoltaic-tracker reliability during severe weather events.
Outcome. Two self-powered tracking systems were deployed at NREL’s National Wind Technology Center for testing and data collection.
- 2022Brazil Center for Solar Excellence
Brazil · South America
Nextracker and Flex Instituto de Tecnologia launched a research, testing, and training center in Sorocaba, Brazil, focused on the lifecycle of solar-tracker systems.
Outcome. The facility was positioned as a regional center for tracker research, testing, workforce training, and technical development.
Brand decisions
2025
Rebrand from Nextracker to NextpowerStrategyBackground
The company had expanded from solar trackers into foundations, electrical systems, software, artificial intelligence, robotics, and related services.
Action taken
On November 12, 2025, the company adopted the Nextpower name and presented itself as a broader energy-technology platform.
Aftermath
The rebrand was intended to align the corporate identity with a wider portfolio serving utility-scale and distributed-generation solar projects.
2024
Low-carbon tracker systemProduct launchBackground
Solar developers and customers have increasingly sought to reduce the embodied carbon of equipment used in renewable-energy projects.
Action taken
The company introduced a tracker system using recycled steel and electric-arc-furnace production, with Carbon Trust product-carbon-footprint certification.
Aftermath
The product strengthened the company’s sustainability positioning and offered a lower-embodied-carbon alternative within its tracker portfolio.
2023
Cloud-responsive tracker controlProduct launchBackground
Solar plants can experience rapidly changing irradiance when cloud cover moves across an array, creating a challenge for fixed tracking algorithms.
Action taken
The company introduced a control function intended to adjust tracker behavior in response to cloud movement while maintaining normal clear-sky operation.
Aftermath
The feature extended the company’s software emphasis from mechanical positioning toward plant-wide, weather-responsive optimization.
Recent events
- Unconfirmed
Reported
Solar FlexRack and Nextracker settle patent lawsuit[3]
Solar FlexRack announced that it had settled a lawsuit brought against it and Northern States Metals by Nextracker. Solar FlexRack also agreed to dismiss its patent-invalidity claims; Northern States Metals denied infringement, and the settlement involved nominal payments. The settlement is not a determination that infringement occurred.
- Unconfirmed
Reported
Nextracker launches NX Navigator software[4]
Nextracker launched NX Navigator, a monitoring and control system for utility-scale solar power plants.
Sources4 sources
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