Presto's app and APIs enable EV fleets to find, charge, and pay for reliable on-the-go charging across thousands of Presto's partner public charging stations. The company says the new funds will be used to onboard new fleets, integrate more chargers and add new features.
Founded 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.
As of Q3 2024, 9% of all US car sales were electric, but Presto says finding and accessing reliable public charging continues to be a barrier to EV adoption. There are now more than 200,000 public charging stations operated by over 50 different companies, each with their own software, mobile apps, and charging hardware. For fleets, navigating this diverse charging ecosystem while on-the-go is a challenge.
Presto aims to simplify 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. Presto's machine-learning recommendation engine ingests real-time information on charger availability and reliability to recommend chargers to fleets for reliable charging.
"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," said J.J. Raynor, co-founder and CFO of Presto. "This new funding allows us to scale up our efforts to support more fleets and charging partners."
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 electric vehicles, get access to special pricing with EVgo in addition to charging across networks via the Presto app.
"J.J. and Ashwin saw a problem that EV rideshare drivers deal with every day and they jumped in to fix it," said Rachel Pinkham, head of US&C electrification operations at Uber. "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."
For its charging partners, Presto helps them onboard more fleet charging demand, grow charger utilization and improve charging economics. EV chargers are expensive to deploy - a typical fast charger installation costs between $116,000 and $167,000. As a result, charging operators naturally want to maximize charger utilization while minimizing congestion and optimizing for customer experience.
"Presto has made onboarding new fleet customers easy for us," said Kate Gridley, business development lead at EVgo. "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."
Nick Grossman, partner at Union Square Ventures who led the firm's investment in Presto said: "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."
With the new funding, Presto plans to scale up its operations and continue investing in its technology to support more fleets and charging partners on their road to electrification.
