EV charging interoperability startup Ionage has raised $1.3 million in a pre-Series A round led by strategic investors and a consortium of CXOs from global energy and infrastructure companies.
The company plans to use the capital to expand its platform coverage to 100% of active charger networks in India, sharpen charger discovery and payment for EV users, and help small and medium-sized charge point operators set up and manage stations more efficiently.
Ionage runs an asset-light software and interoperability layer that connects large charging networks, SME charge point operators, restaurants, fuel stations, real-estate developers, housing societies and commercial fleets — a model the company likens to the interoperability UPI brought to banking. It has onboarded more than 25,000 four-wheeler charging points, supports 63+ fleets, and works with over 75 charging partners across 33 states and Union Territories and nearly 3,000 cities. The platform currently operates across more than 70% of India's charging hardware.
The startup is targeting monthly energy throughput of over 20 million units within 12 months, backed by month-on-month growth of more than 25%.
Why it matters for founders
As EV adoption scales, fragmentation is the enemy — of chargers, payments and roaming. Ionage's raise shows investors will fund software that becomes shared infrastructure rather than another asset-heavy network. If you're building in energy or mobility, the playbook is clear: own the interoperability layer, and the network effects follow.