EV data startup Volteras wants to bring Tesla-level control to every vehicle and charger
Summary
EV data startup Volteras wants to bring Tesla-level control to every vehicle and chargerVolteras aims to be the connective tissue between electric vehicles and everything they might touch from chargers and home batteries to energy retailers and mapping apps.While flying under the radar for three years, the London-based startup tells TechCrunch that it has raised about $2.9 million and hooked up with some big partners. They include Mercedes, BMW, Volvo and solar energy company Enphase.Its really difficult to get data from electric vehicles and the surrounding ecosystem, Volteras founder and CEO Peter Wilson said in a call with TechCrunch. Volteras charges OEMs and energy retailers for API access, yet the startup promises not to harvest or hawk data for third parties.That was the business model before us, explained Wilson. The CEO added, Recently, theyre just getting absolutely pummeled, because everyone is switching to the more privacy-focused platform approach.Regulators, such as Californias Privacy Protection Agency, are showing interest lately in how automakers handle data. Wilson said the startups API enables energy retailers to do things like load balancing such as deciding when to charge EVs if customers opt in.This is the kind of stuff Teslas building for its own ecosystem linking together cars, powerwalls and solar arrays via one app.