SparkCharge raises $30M to help fleets electrify without commitments

Summary

Electrifying a fleet of vehicles is the chicken-and-egg problem for the 21st century. Where do you spend money first, on the vehicles or the charging infrastructure? Believe it or not, that question isn’t always thought through. Joshua Aviv, founder and CEO of SparkCharge, has had fleets approach him and say, “Hey, the cars are here. They’re sitting on the lot. We’ve got no way to service them, no way to charge them. Can you guys help us out?” he told TechCrunch. Some companies are a tad more prepared and give Aviv a week’s notice, sometimes longer. But that’s not entirely surprising given Aviv’s pitch: buy the vehicles first, and leave the charging to us. It’s a bit of a pivot from the startup’s first offering, which was mobile EV charging. The company had partnered with AllState to help stranded EV drivers, for example. Now, SparkCharge offers what it calls “charging-as-a-service.” Fleets sign a deal with the startup to buy electricity on a per-kilowatt-hour basis, and SparkCharge make charing happen. The startup has expanded into all 50 states, Canada, and Mexico, To continue to expand, SparkCharge has raised $15.5 million in a Series A-1 round led by Monte’s Fam with participation from Cleveland Avenue, Collab Capital, Elemental Impact, MarcyPen, and Non-sibi Ventures, the company exclusively told TechCrunch. Alongside the equity round, SparkCharge also secured a $15 million venture loan from Horizon Technology Finance Corporation. Aviv founded SparkCharge in 2018 as the electric vehicle wave was beginning to form. Outside of Tesla, fast-charging infrastructure was lacking. But companies were starting to invest in electrification because of the compelling financial outlook: EVs promised not only to save on fuel costs, but also maintenance. In the seven years since, fast charging has dramatically improved, but it’s not evenly distributed. “There’s a lot of fleets out there that are like, ‘Hey, I’m in middle of America. Hey, I’m in different parts of the coast,’” ...