Berlin-based e-mobility startup JUCR today announced a €32.2 million financing close incorporating €6.2 million in seed money as well as €25 million of debt.
The financing is backed by Vector Venture Capital together with existing investors 2bX and German Media Pool, and will go to software and hardware engineering on JUCR's proprietary EV charging technology.
This is JUCR's second funding call following a €1.5 million pre-seed in February, bringing its lifetime score to almost €33 million.
JUCR's internal R&D programme is in addition to its existing charging network, branded Europe's "densest charging network for electric cars." It has 333,000 charging points for EV owners to use, all for a single €29.99/month sub through JUCR's smartphone app and with built-in maps to show motorists when one's nearby.
The founders (Richard Birich, Max Grollmann, Lukas Puls) say too many charging stations today are prone to not working leaving the EV motorist at risk of a flat battery. Some may also stop functioning as future EVs with new capabilities reach market.
JUCR's internal team will aim to develop easy-installation charging points and reduce production overheads at the same time. They've already hit on a proprietary charging protocol - the JUCR Charge Point Protocol - enabling a host of charging features, like bidirectional charging, plug-in-charge and over-the-air software updates.
By 2025, JUCR thinks it is capable of delivering at least 100,000 charging stations using internal technology.
The founding team has heaps of experience getting energy, robotics and consumer goods business models to work. JUCR's hardware honcho Lukas Puls, former Stiebel Eltron electrical engineer, has a track record delivering IoT product.
Turning to the seed money, JUCR's CEO Richard Birich seems convinced that in Vector Venture Capital they've found a top investor to make their "vision become reality." He added: "We met interest from many many venture capital funds, but chose Vector primarily for its technical expertise."
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