\n<\/p>\n
Volteras<\/a> aims to be the connective tissue between electric vehicles and everything they might touch \u2014 from chargers and home batteries to energy retailers and mapping apps.<\/p>\n While flying under the radar for three years, the London-based startup tells TechCrunch that it has raised about $2.9 million and hooked up with some big partners. They include Mercedes, BMW, Volvo and solar energy company Enphase<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s really difficult to get data from electric vehicles and the surrounding ecosystem,\u201d Volteras founder and CEO Peter Wilson said in a call with TechCrunch. The executive added, \u201cSome [businesses] have access to EV data, but they don\u2019t have access to chargers and energy storage. Others have access to charging data, but they don\u2019t have access to EV data.\u201d<\/p>\n Volteras aims to bring it all together in a way that\u2019s similar to Plaid<\/a>\u2018s work with banks. Volteras charges OEMs and energy retailers for API access, yet the startup promises not to harvest or hawk data for third parties.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThat was the business model before us,\u201d explained Wilson. \u201cThere are a billion other companies that were all built around 2016. [They] were marketplaces and they bought and sold data from cars.\u201d The CEO added, \u201cRecently, they\u2019re just getting absolutely pummeled, because everyone is switching to the more privacy-focused platform approach.\u201d<\/p>\n Regulators, such as California\u2019s Privacy Protection Agency, are showing interest lately in how automakers handle data. That\u2019s for good reason. Modern cars are stuffed with cameras and sensors, which track drivers\u2019 behaviors and location, among other sensitive data.<\/p>\n Volteras wants to provide more than just insights. Wilson said the startup\u2019s API enables energy retailers to do things like load balancing \u2014 such as deciding when to charge EVs \u2014 if customers opt in.<\/p>\n This is the kind of stuff Tesla\u2019s building for its own ecosystem \u2014 linking together cars, powerwalls and solar arrays via one app. But Tesla has its limits. The automaker\u2019s electricity plan<\/a>, for example, is currently only available in Texas.<\/p>\n Not to be confused with charging firm Voltera<\/a>, Volteras closed $2.9 million in seed funding almost a year ago. The startup\u2019s investors include Exor (a major stakeholder in Ferrari and Stellantis \u2014 convenient!), early-stage VC Long Journey Ventures and Crunchie awardee Scott Banister<\/a>.<\/p>\n Volteras\u2019 seed round valued it at around $12 million, Wilson said.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n