Beep, an IoT company that provides interoperable charging networks for businesses and drivers in Singapore, has closed its US$3.3 million pre-Series A investment.
The round was led by existing investors Granite Asia (formerly GGV Capital), Farquhar VC, SUTD Venture Holdings, and Wing Vasiksiri, with participation from M7 Ace Neo, an M7 Company.
The startup will use the funds to accelerate its expansion in Thailand and Malaysia.
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Launched in 2018, Beep owns and operates Voltality, an integrated ecosystem of charging stations, payment services, and vehicles.
In June 2022, it launched an electric vehicle (EV) e-roaming network spanning over 1350 charge points with 11 operators in Singapore. As of 2024, Beep has partnered with operators with over 5,000 charging stations.
According to the startup, there is a massive demand for EVs in Southeast Asia, with total EV sales in the region experiencing 894 per cent year-on-year growth. The first expansion phase focuses on extending Voltality’s charging network in Thailand and Malaysia. The platform is live with its first partners in Malaysia and will launch in Thailand in Q3 2024.
In Thailand, Voltality has signed contracts with leading charging operators Sharge and Evolt together with WHA Group, a developer of fully integrated logistics, industrial estates, power and utilities and digital solutions, and EV rental and purchasing platform EVme. The agreement will enable connectivity for several thousand vehicles to over 1,600 charge points locally.
In Malaysia, contracts have been signed with several charging operators, including KINETA, a major player in the EV space, and ChargEV to accelerate EV charging and roaming innovation.
Voltality has also secured contracts with mobility partners to enable local and cross-border charging connectivity within H2, 2024.
Beep is also exploring expanding to other regional markets such as Indonesia, Vietnam and more for its second phase in 2025. To help navigate its continued regional expansion, Ming Maa, ex-Grab Group President, will also join Beep as an advisor, bringing significant operational expertise in market development and partnerships within Southeast Asia’s complex landscape.
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On the commercial front, Voltality recently signed an MOU with Grab to collaborate on increasing the number of charging operators onboarded onto the network, and to support building an integrated charging platform for its driver-partners in the region. An initial closed-door pilot has also started with select driver-partners in Singapore.
Voltality signed an MOU with Huawei Consumer Cloud Service on the consumer front. This will improve the data on charging station locations when using Huawei’s Petal Maps and ‘Huawei Mobile Services (HMS) for Car’ across Southeast Asia. As a result, EV drivers using Petal Maps and HMS will receive a more accurate “smart” journey planner based on their EV’s battery life.
In 2023, Beep became one of the startups that won the Petronas FutureTech 3.0 accelerator programme.
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Image Credit: Beep.
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