Press release:
Envoy secures $81 million in financing to accelerate adoption of an electric vehicle future
Date: 11/12/2020
Envoy Technologies, Inc (Envoy), the first-to-market EV “Mobility as an Amenity”™ provider to the Commercial Real Estate (CRE) industry, announced today it has secured an $11 million Series A round and a strategic vehicle financing facility to assist Envoy to scale to thousands of vehicles. The Series A was co-led by Shell Ventures and Building Ventures and included other notable investors; DENSO, Goodyear Ventures, GroundBreak Ventures, and the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator Impact Fund. The vehicle financing facility is being provided by Macquarie Specialized and Asset Finance, a part of Macquarie Group. The capital will enable Envoy to continue expansion throughout the United States.
Founded in 2017 by real estate and tech entrepreneurs Aric Ohana and Ori Sagie, Envoy partners with CRE industry leaders to offer onsite mobility services including electric car-sharing and EV charging for apartments, offices, and hotels. Envoy's Mobility as an Amenity™ service is a turn-key solution that includes technology to reserve and access vehicles, driver insurance, maintenance, and electric vehicle chargers. Even in the face of a global pandemic, the company has experienced record utilization amounting to more than 1.25 million electric miles driven. Envoy is currently available in 14 markets across 10 states in the U.S.
"Early on, we realized that the world's transition to electric mobility will significantly impact our built world. We have attracted investors from commercial real estate, mobility, and energy to accelerate that transition sustainably." said Aric Ohana, Envoy's co-founder and CEO
"Envoy has built a strong foundation enabling properties to provide a valuable and essential in-house electric mobility service. Now, with our new partners and funding, we are poised to scale rapidly into new markets and continuously educate about electric vehicles and usage" added Ori Sagie, Envoy's co-founder and Executive Chairman.
Daniel Lyons, general manager of electric mobility at Shell New Energies, added: "We are excited to be joining Envoy in its mission which sits at the intersection of two key trends, shared and electric mobility. As the business grows, we see opportunities to combine smart charging solutions with the broader energy needs of Envoy's real estate partners to lower charging costs and manage grid limitations."
Travis Connors, Co-Founder and General Partner of Building Ventures, shares the firm’s investment rationale: “One of our core investment themes is the need for increased utilization of our existing built environment. The private vehicles we use to move about that built world are perhaps the most underutilized of the spaces we occupy. We believe that Envoy has developed a solution that offers all the benefits of private car ownership without the associated costs or environmental externalities, enabling both a great user experience and a more sustainable utilization of space.”
About Envoy
Envoy Technologies, a Culver City, CA-based, provider of turnkey electric vehicle-sharing services, offers on-site, on-demand vehicles where people live, work and stay (i.e. apartments, condos, student housing, office campuses, co-working spaces, hotels). Envoy equips real estate owners and operators with a new and innovative way to enhance the lifestyle of their tenants, members and guests by providing Mobility as an Amenity™. Learn more at https://www.envoythere.com/
About Building Ventures
Building Ventures invests in and mentors early-stage start-ups in the built environment. The firm's mission is to champion the disruptive ideas in construction and real estate tech that transform the way we design, build, operate and experience our physical world. Headquartered in Boston with an office in San Francisco, the BV team consists of investors, entrepreneurs and built environment veterans working together for a better built world. Visit http://buildingventures.com to learn more.
About Shell New Energies and electric mobility
As one of the world’s largest energy suppliers, Shell is exploring how to serve an increasing number of electric vehicle drivers, on its forecourts and beyond. Shell offers access to over 165,000 charge points around the world, including access to over 500 Shell Recharge charging points, at 300 retail sites in 18 countries. These initiatives are part of Shell’s wider drive to provide more and cleaner energy solutions around the world.
About Macquarie Specialized Asset Finance
The Specialized and Asset Finance Division, part of the Commodities and Global Markets Group, provides innovative and traditional capital, finance and related services to clients operating in selected international markets. With offices in North America, Europe, Australia and Asia, Specialised and Asset Finance has a focus on:
· leasing and asset finance
· tailored debt and finance solutions
· asset remarketing, sourcing and trading.
