TORONTO – Toronto-based SWTCH Energy Inc., an alumnus of Communitech's Fierce Founders program for women-led companies, has raised CDN$1.1 million to expand its product and service offerings to metropolitan areas across North America. This new round brings the total amount raised by SWTCH to CDN$3.5 million in equity, grant, and non-dilutive funding. The round was led by IBI Group and included Active Impact Investments, Cogito Capital, Export Development Canada, and Ontario Centres of Excellence as co-investors.
A MaRS Cleantech company and graduate of the CSI Climate Solutions, Communitech Fierce Founders, and DMZ Sales Accelerator programs, SWTCH was founded in 2016 to address the unique challenges of urban electric vehicle (EV) ownership. Increasingly, EV owners live in urban multi-family settings, such as condominiums and apartment buildings, where they don't have access to charging. At the same time, the entities that stand to benefit most from providing EV charging services—e.g., real estate developers, building operators, and property managers—don't have a management solution to provide EV charging services cost-effectively. SWTCH's unique approach to EV charging and energy management addresses the barriers to EV ownership in urban settings through open standards-based EV charging and distributed energy resource aggregation to improve grid efficiency; scheduling/reservation systems to optimize charger usage and revenue; vision-AI enforcement to prevent loitering of vehicles parked in EV charging spaces; and battery energy storage integration with load management capabilities to maximize existing energy infrastructure and minimize future upgrade costs.
"SWTCH's mission is centred on realizing the social, economic, and environmental benefits of widespread EV adoption," said Carter Li, CEO of SWTCH. "Limited access to EV charging infrastructure in high-density urban settings remains a key barrier to increased EV adoption. This round of financing will help accelerate our growth into new urban markets across North America and improve charging accessibility in major metropolitan areas."
"I am pleased to formalize this arrangement between IBI and SWTCH", said Scott Stewart, CEO of IBI Group. "This investment is part of our strategy, through our Smart City Sandbox initiative, to provide a bridge between the innovation of the tech eco environments and the practical needs of our clients."
"The EV charging software landscape is extremely competitive. We knew we had to find a world-class operator with financial and operating discipline to win in the space, and that's exactly what we've found with Carter Li," said Mike Winterfield, Managing Partner of Active Impact Investments. "We believe SWTCH possesses all the key ingredients to find success with a well-timed product offering."
"SWTCH is yet another company that proves that software and hardware excellence can be found in Canada," said Derek Li, Managing Director of Cogito Capital. "Moreover, we think they are poised better to win internationally due to the fact that they are Canadian, and we are excited for their success."
SWTCH plans to establish itself as a core component to urban EV ownership and become the leading EV charging and energy management platform for high-density urban settings. Ultimately, as cities around the world strive to establish more sustainable practices, SWTCH's mission is to improve urban EV charging accessibility and ensure effective integration of EVs in our clean energy future.
About SWTCH Energy Inc.
SWTCH is headquartered in Toronto, Ontario with offices in Brooklyn, New York. The company's end-to-end solutions for electric vehicle (EV) charging and energy management streamline charging for drivers while optimizing usage and revenue for building operators. SWTCH is a proud member of Open Charge Alliance (OCA), basing its EV charging platform on open communication standards to ensure scalable, future-proof charging solutions for clients.
About IBI Group
IBI Group Inc. (TSX:IBG) is a globally integrated architecture, planning, engineering, and technology firm with over 2,600 professionals around the world. For more than 40 years, its dedicated professionals have helped clients create livable, sustainable, and advanced urban environments. IBI Group believes that cities must be designed with intelligent systems, sustainable buildings, efficient infrastructure, and a human touch.
About Active Impact Investments
Active Impact Investments is a certified BCorp based in Vancouver, BC, managing a seed-stage venture fund that invests in companies solving the biggest and most urgent environmental challenges of our time. We leverage our extensive corporate and start-up successes to find, invest in, and actively support founders with strategy and execution.
About Cogito Capital
Cogito Capital advises, manages and invests in organizations that inspire traditional, mature businesses to rethink their value propositions and evolve to capture the changing market conditions. Through innovative technologies, services and processes, Cogito Capital supported organizations break through the status quo and bring their clients to the future.
