Charging an electrical automobile in public will be the most effective of occasions or the worst of occasions.
An EV driver will be charged and again on the highway in a easy 20 minutes, however they could additionally encounter damaged chargers, unresponsive touchscreens, and blocked stalls, all of which may make for a irritating expertise.
It may be a headache for on a regular basis customers. For fleet or journey share drivers, a damaged charger is misplaced cash.
These frustrations prompted Ashwin Dias and J.J. Raynor to go away their jobs at Uber, the place they led efforts to affect journey share drivers’ automobiles, and begin Presto, an app that factors fleet drivers to the most effective chargers.
“Coming from an Uber background, we expect there’s a dynamic market the place we will help make the whole lot smoother by matching various demand with various provide,” Raynor mentioned. Which may imply nudging price-sensitive drivers to attend half-hour for a less expensive charger to open up whereas guiding time-sensitive drivers to quicker and extra dependable however pricer stalls.
Presto just lately raised a $15 million seed spherical led by Union Sq. Ventures, the corporate solely advised TechCrunch. The spherical additionally included investments from Congruent Ventures, Jetstream, and Powerhouse Ventures.
The workforce is beginning with fleets, partly as a result of they drive so many miles.
“Uber drivers, who drive 40 hours every week, are those that should be in an EV proper if we have to electrify shortly and have an effect,” Dias, the startup’s CEO, advised TechCrunch.
The duo lobbied Uber to deal with the problem within the driver app, however realized that it couldn’t really be solved by one firm.
That’s partly due to the proliferation of firms putting in and operating EV charging stalls.
“Charging is simply changing into an increasing number of fragmented within the U.S.,” Raynor mentioned. Final yr, almost 60% of all new DC Quick chargers within the U.S. got here from greater than 40 completely different networks. “We went from three or 4 massive gamers to individuals we’ve by no means heard of,” she mentioned.
Either side of the equation really feel the ache of this fragmentation.
Fleets would profit from connecting on to charging networks’ software program, however charging networks don’t need to assist an API for dozens or tons of of consumers. On the flip aspect, fleets don’t need to need to combine with a rising variety of charging networks.
Presto’s software program is one thing that either side can hook up with. It offers fleets and charging networks one companion to work with and entry to extra prospects — a traditional platform play.
“In some senses, we consider ourselves as Stripe, as being a transaction layer for charging,” Dias mentioned.
The startup affords its personal app and API, which firms can combine with; it might additionally deal with funds.
The mix offers Presto a variety of information to energy its machine studying advice engine, telling drivers which chargers they need to use and the place networks ought to direct their upkeep crews. For instance, let’s say a community stories {that a} charger is on-line, however a cost session initiated by way of Presto fails. Presto can route drivers away from that stall and report the issue to the community.
Rental automotive firms have been early adopters of Presto’s platform, together with Hertz, Avis, and ZipCar, Dias mentioned. Uber drivers additionally use the app, which alerts them to networks that supply discounted charging.
Different fleets like supply firms have been adopting the app, Dias mentioned, even when they’ve chargers at their depots. “Generally the chargers on the depot don’t work or there are extra automobiles than chargers,” he mentioned.
Presto’s fundamental objective is to drive API integration, although, encouraging fleets so as to add the startup’s suggestions inside their very own apps and dashboards. “I don’t suppose we wish customers to have yet one more app to obtain,” Dias mentioned.
Raynor mentioned the corporate has been approached by main automakers, however for now it’s targeted on fleets. As somebody who has had their share of dangerous charging experiences, I hope that modifications quickly.