PIONIX GmbH, the leading pioneer in open source software for EV charging, today announced that Japanese venture capital firm Global Brain has invested in PIONIX through its Flagship Funds. The investment will accelerate PIONIX’s global growth strategy, particularly for the Asian market. Global Brain Flagship Funds support startups in various domains including IT, DeepTech, latest technologies, and business models that lead to solving social issues.
Founded in 2021, PIONIX can already look back to a rapid and successful development. The most recent milestone was an oversubscribed Seed financing round in which the company raised more than €5 million. The potential of EVerest, the open source software project for EV charging initiated by PIONIX, also convinced Global Brain as especially the Asian market is expected to continuously see strong momentum in adoption of electric vehicles (EVs). Global Brain’s investment is designed to enable PIONIX to improve its visibility in Asia and implies business development services.
The Asian EV market is booming, alongside the region’s growing sustainability agenda, contributing to reduced carbon emissions and sustainable transportation. PIONIX's open-source framework ensures adaptability to diverse EV charging standards, fostering innovation and market leadership. Global Brain has seen huge potential in the company to push the EV agenda forward at global scale. They are excited to partner with PIONIX on this journey.
A standardized and unified operating system for the charging ecosystem
The open source software EVerest is a modular framework for easily developing and building fully fledged EV charging stations. As it supports all current relevant industry standards, such as OCPP, ISO15118, IEC-61851, EVerest covers a large number of charging business cases, from a non-managed home charger to a load balancing multiple satellite bidirectional DC charging site.
“We want to boost the development of the EV charging industry together with our partners and the community. With EVerest, we are uniquely positioned to solve some of the most pressing challenges of the EV industry: To build a standardized and unified operating system for the charging ecosystem,” said Marco Möller, CEO and Co-Founder of PIONIX. “We look forward to the journey ahead with a partner that shares our vision to have a decisive impact on the global spread of e-mobility and to make EVerest the world's trusted charging station software stack.”
"We are excited to partner with PIONIX on their journey to revolutionize the EV charging industry," stated Rina Obi, Investment Director and Country Head Germany at Global Brain. "PIONIX's experienced team and their commitment to establishing a standardized and unified operating system for the charging ecosystem has impressed us. This investment is a testament to our belief in PIONIX's potential to make a significant impact on the global proliferation of e-mobility."
First activities already planned for November 2023
The first activities are already planned as PIONIX CEO Marco Möller plans a several week trip to Asia. Marco Möller is in for a full programme to include visiting fairs (e.g. China International Import Expo in Shanghai) , attending networking events (e.g. the Global Brain Alliance Forum) and meeting with Asian subsidiaries of existing customers. “Over the past few weeks and months we saw a constant interest in EVerest, from Chinese and Asian charging station manufacturers and component suppliers.The support from Global Brain is thus coming at the right time to take the positive momentum,” says Marco Möller.
About Global Brain / Global Brain Flagship Funds
Global Brain is an independent venture capital firm based in Tokyo with offices in US, UK, Germany, China, South Korea, India, Indonesia and Singapore. It supports startups on a global scale with the aim to create new industries through full hands-on support, global ecosystem, and open innovation between startups and large corporations. Along with its flagship funds, Global Brain currently manages CVC funds with 14 industry-leading companies, surpassing $1.8B in AUM.
