Electric vehicle (EV) charging firm Bonnet has secured US$5.5 million (£4 million) in new investment as the company looks to expand its coverage to the majority of UK and European chargers by the end of 2022.
The funding is to be used to secure new chargepoint operator partnerships and support the company tripling its headcount, alongside further R&D into new features and revenue streams and increasing its international presence in new markets.
The new investors include Lightspeed, GV and 20VC, with financial backing also coming from angel investors including the founder of Deliveroo Will Shu, ex-Tesla president Jon McNeill, co-founder of TIER Lawrence Leuschner and founders of Zapp Joe Falter and Navid Hadzaad.
It follows a US$1.2 million round secured by Bonnet last August, with the company also announcing a £70,000 grant from Innovate UK and the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles at the same time.
Since launching in July 2021, Bonnet has grown to have 50,000 chargepoints available across the UK and Europe. Its app delivers real-time data on charging availability and functionality, while also offering what it said are cheaper charging options through its charging bundles.
Its chargepoint network partnerships include ESB, Shell Recharge, EVBox, Alfa Power, Franklin Energy, Plug-N-Go, Allego, Fastned and char.gy.
“Bonnet is continuing to see rapid growth, with thousands of new charge points added each month and incredible uptake from drivers and fleets alike. This year will continue to see the advancement of our tech offering and we can’t wait to put the new features into drivers’ hands,” Bonnet co-founder and CEO Patrick Reich said.
Reich recently examined the current north-south divide in the rollout of EV charging in a blog on Current±, while in September 2021 Current± spoke to Reich about how Bonnet is “fighting the corner” of urban EV drivers, with many urban drivers having to rely on public charging infrastructure.
