Electric vehicle charging software startup Monterra has raised $2.5 million in its pre-seed funding round, the company announced Nov. 28.
It said that the funding round was led by Base10 Partners, and also saw participation from Future Climate Venture Studio, Very Serious Ventures and a handful of other angel investors, including some of Monterra's early customers.
Monterra, which was founded in 2022 and develops software that helps EV charging installers design and plan projects faster, said that it plans to leverage the newly raised funds to accelerate its work of speeding up the deployment of EV charging installations with automation and AI.
The startup said that it is building design and proposal software for EV charging installers. “By using Monterra to build virtual estimates in a matter of minutes, installers reclaim many hours wasted on manual work and win more sales,” the company said, adding that it also helps the installers digitize the on-site data collection process with its mobile app.
Commenting on the new funds raised, David Kim, CEO and co-founder at Monterra, said, “Electrifying transportation is a key pillar of decarbonization, and the demand for EVs is booming. Swiftly expanding charging infrastructure is crucial to keep up the pace of transition. In recent years, the industry has seen a lot of innovation across vehicle, battery, and charging technologies but not enough to support the installers, who are at the forefront of constructing and deploying charging stations. That's where Monterra comes in — to help electricians, developers, and engineers work more efficiently, build faster, and grow their business.”
Adding to that, Kelson Reiss, CPO and co-founder at Monterra, said, “Large EV charging projects can get complex — from selecting the right conduits and wires to verifying sufficient cell signal. But, well-designed software and AI can bring down the 'soft costs' for these projects and drive a step-change improvement in efficiency.”
Notably, the startup was co-founded by Kim, who worked with utilities and energy companies to design EV charging programs, deploy smart grid infrastructure and plan energy-efficiency programs, and Reiss, who brought product and technical expertise from his work shipping software to millions of users at leading tech companies.
