Until December 2022, Ashwin Dias and JJ Raynor were building out Uber’s electrification program, incentivizing ride-hailing drivers to adopt electric vehicles as part of Uber’s goal to fully electrify its fleet in the US and Canada by 2030.

Inadequate charging infrastructure has been a major obstacle to Uber’s goal, as well as to broader EV adoption in the US. Raynor and Dias co-founded Presto in 2023.

“We became so frustrated on behalf of drivers that they often had to juggle multiple apps, and often the chargers recommended by those apps were unreliable,” Raynor told ImpactAlpha. “We told our bosses at Uber, ‘We’re gonna go build this and it’d be great if you would use it someday. But frankly, someone has to solve this problem.’”

Presto partners with EVgo, ChargePoint and other charging operators to collect real-time information on thousands of fast-charging public stations across the US. The San Francisco-based company serves EV driving customers of Uber, Avis, Hertz, Zipcar and other fleet operators. Uber drivers using the app get a discount on EV charging. 

EV charging access

“Presto has made onboarding new fleet customers easy for us,” said Kate Gridley of EVgo, which manages a network of over 1,000 EV fast-chargers in more than 35 states.

“Easily accessible electric vehicle changing is crucial for a smooth member experience and to drive sustainable transportation further,” said Will Sowers of Boston-based car-sharing company Zipcar, which early last year launched a nationwide initiative to deploy EVs in transit deserts.

Presto’s seed round was backed by Union Square Ventures, Congruent Ventures, Powerhouse Ventures and Jetstream. Dias hopes to expand Presto’s reach to Canada this year.