- Charge, a startup that provides charging docks for electric scooters, has signed a $3.1 million deal to roll out new stations in anticipation of a summer scooter boom.
- Founded in 2019 by entrepreneurs Andrew Fox and Dan Waldman, the startup is ramping up capacity through a $3.1 million deal with Canadian manufacturer Poitras Industries, according to documentation seen by Business Insider.
- The deal marks the growing maturity of the scooter market in Europe and North America as companies look to move away from the "juicer" model of recharging electric scooters and bikes.
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Electric scooter and bike startups are hoping for a summer boom as people emerge from lockdown and seek alternative transport.
Major cities across the world have now allowed rented scooters onto their streets, with firms including Lime, Bird, Tier, and Dott fighting for share.
These startups like to push their environmental credentials but for the most part scooter recharging involves freelance contractors called "juicers" picking up scooters, driving them to a warehouse to be recharged, and then placing them back on the streets.
That reliance on gig economy labor can be inefficient, expensive, and difficult to scale.
French-American startup Charge is offering a solution, and hopes to piggyback off the anticipated summer rise in scooter use.
Charge offers a range of scooter charging products, such as docks that can charge up to 18 scooters at once. Docks can be rented through Charge's mobile app, and they're designed to be compatible with scooters from different companies.
The company, founded by serial entrepreneurs Andrew Fox and Dan Waldman, is about to scale up its operations over 2020, according to documentation seen by Business Insider.
Fox and Waldman were both early investors in mobility startup Lime. Charge's senior team counts two additional senior Lime veterans: Noa Khamallah as a senior vice president and Caen Contee.
Charge has signed a deal with Canadian manufacturer Poitras Industries to build and deliver 230 charging stations, according to a confirmation letter between the companies seen by Business Insider.
The deal is valued at €2.6 million ($3.1 million) and comes weeks after the company deployed scooter docking systems in Paris.
Charge confirmed the deal in written responses to Business Insider.
"Our industrial investment will enable us to finance our international development, initially in Europe and the United States, and to invest in R&D projects by strengthening our technological lead," Andrew Fox told Business Insider. "A great lever for development, only 16 months after the creation of our company."
Charge is currently funded entirely by friends, family, and existing founder capital. The company closed a $4.75 million funding round 12 months ago to fund the business, Business Insider understands.
Charge is also opening up 1% of its business to a crowdfunding campaign which it claims will help eco-conscious consumers invest in the future of mobility.
The company has smart charging hubs in Atlanta, Los Angeles, and Paris.
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source https://www.businessinsider.com/charge-bike-and-e-scooter-charging-startup-signs-31-million-deal-2020-7
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