- U.S. based fleet charging app and platform, Presto, has raised $15 million in seed funding as it looks to expand its program offering beyond its current CPO partnerships.
- The Presto platform has already proven its performance with its partnership with electric fleets such as Uber, Avis, Hertz, and Zipcar, with this new funding going towards growing the program further and increasing its attractiveness to other fleet operators.
- With the U.S. public charging network now consisting of over 200,000 charging stations, operated by over 50 individual CPOs, bringing multiple charging brands under one umbrella is becoming more crucial.
Presto raises $15m in drive to expand platform
Presto was only founded back in 2023 by two former Uber electrification execs J.J. Raynor and Ashwin Dias, but already partners with some significant electric fleets, such as Uber, Avis, Hertz, and Zipcar. For those rental car companies, Presto exists as a consumer facing app – with rental agencies providing customers with the app when renting an EV, giving them easy access to charging during the rental period. Simple solutions such as these will be crucial for rental companies to persuade customers to choose electric, particularly for those who may be driving an EV for the first time.
Rachel Pinkham, Head of US&C Electrification Operations at Uber, added:
“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.”
J.J. Raynor, co-founder and CFO of Presto, commented on the new funding:
“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.”
Much like we’ve seen in recent statistics from the European Union, electric vehicles are becoming an ever more popular choice for fleets in particular. However, finding an all-in-one charging platform that simplifies chargepoint discovery and payment under one system is becoming a key want from fleets, and Presto exists as one of the many fleet roaming networks hoping to lend its service to businesses. Presto only operates in the U.S. so far, and while this new funding will be used to grow its fleet and CPO partnerships, a geographical expansion could be on the cards further down the line.
