Presto – an all-in-one EV charging platform – announced that it has raised $15 million in seed funding from Union Square Ventures, Congruent Ventures, Powerhouse Ventures, and Jetstream. And through Presto’s app and APIs, fleets can find, charge, and pay for reliable on-the-go charging across thousands of Presto’s partner public charging stations. This funding will be used to onboard new fleets, integrate more chargers, and add new features.
Launched in 2023 by J.J. Raynor and Ashwin Dias, former Uber executives who launched Uber’s electrification program, Presto’s platform is used by some of the largest electric fleets, including Uber, Avis, Hertz, and Zipcar.
Drivers and fleets are rapidly choosing electric vehicles (EVs) for their lower total costs, reduced maintenance, and clean air benefits. As of Q3 2024, 9% of all U.S. car sales were electric. However, finding and accessing reliable public charging continues to be a barrier to EV adoption. More than 200,000 public charging stations are operated by over 50 different companies, each with its own software, mobile apps, and charging hardware. For fleets, navigating this diverse charging ecosystem while on-the-go is a challenge.
Presto essentially simplifies charging by enabling fleets to seamlessly find, charge, and pay across thousands of charging stations operated by Presto’s charging partners through one easy-to-use app or API. And Presto’s machine-learning recommendation engine ingests real-time information on charger availability and reliability to recommend chargers to fleets for reliable charging.
Large fleets have found success working with Presto. And car rental companies, including Avis, Hertz, and Zipcar provide the Presto app to their customers when they rent an EV, making it easier for them to charge during their rental. Uber drivers – who have been rapidly switching to EVs – get access to special pricing with EVgo in addition to charging across networks via the Presto app.
For its charging partners, Presto helps them onboard more fleet charging demand, grow charger utilization and improve charging economics. And EV chargers are expensive to deploy as a typical fast charger installation costs between $116,000 and $167,000. So charging operators naturally want to maximize charger utilization while minimizing congestion and optimizing for customer experience.
With the new funding, Presto plans on scaling up its operations and continue investing in its technology to support more fleets and charging partners on their road to electrification.
KEY QUOTES:
“Presto addresses a critical gap in the EV ecosystem—a unified and effortless charging experience—that enables fleets and their drivers to charge across networks. This new funding allows us to scale up our efforts to support more fleets and charging partners.”
- J.J. Raynor, co-founder and CFO of Presto
“J.J. and Ashwin saw a problem that EV rideshare drivers deal with every day and they jumped in to fix it. What really stands out is their customer-centric approach—features like price discovery and the recommendation engine are clever, practical tools that genuinely help drivers save time and money.”
- Rachel Pinkham, Head of US&C Electrification Operations at Uber
“Easily accessible electric vehicle charging is crucial for a smooth member experience and to drive sustainable transportation further. Since each Zipcar is shared between 50 to 90 members and sees more use than a personal vehicle, our professional fleet teams use Presto to help maintain our electric vehicle fleets in select cities.”
- Will Sowers, Senior Manager of Public Partnerships and Policy at Zipcar
“Presto has made onboarding new fleet customers easy for us. Presto’s platform provides fleets with the tools they need to charge seamlessly, and fleet usage has been an important driver of our rising network utilization.”
– Kate Gridley, Business Development Lead at EVgo
“We believe in J.J. and Ashwin’s vision to create a unified platform that transforms EV charging into a magical experience. Presto’s traction with both fleets and charge point operators speaks to the urgency and size of the opportunity.”
– Nick Grossman, partner at Union Square Ventures who led the firm’s investment in Presto
