A Silicon Valley smart grid startup is gunning to lower the cost of demand response by 90% while increasing efficiency 30%. Palo Alto, CA-based AutoGrid was founded by Stanford University professor Amit Narayan. Its most recent hire is smart grid pioneer Chris Knudsen. Knudsen, who formerly ran PG&E's Technology Innovation Center, joins as chief technology officer. AutoGrid has already attracted marquee investors including Foundation Capital, Voyager Capital and Stanford University.  What's more, it is leading a $4-million grant project funded by DOE and the California Energy Commission to investigate "highly dispatchable and distributed demand response for the integration of distributed generation."