US-based AmpUp is an electric vehicle (EV) software company and network provider that enables drivers, hosts, and fleets to charge stress-free. Here, we speak to co-founder & CEO Thomas Sun, who elaborates on how they are changing the EV charging game in a user-friendly and sustainable way.
Can you tell us a bit about the company and its founders?
AmpUp was founded in 2018 and incubated by the YCombinator accelerator. The company was formed by nomad EV drivers to solve a problem that many others experience: owning an electric car without home charging. AmpUp first released a mobile app to build a shared charging network or a way for hosts to make their charge stations publicly available for all EV drivers. The service quickly began to decrease range anxiety, providing an important service to the EV community. AmpUp has since released new charging management solutions for customers of all types yet our commitment to public charging is still ingrained in all of our products today. The company now has over 40 employees with offices in Cupertino, CA and Boston, MA.
How does your solution contribute to the Digitalisation and Decarbonisation of the energy sector?
Our passion for clean energy and a user-friendly EV charging experience is the driving force behind AmpUp. We acknowledge the environmental impacts of our business decisions and strive to incorporate more sustainable practices in our daily operations and long-term objectives. This includes reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and solid waste to the best of our ability, supporting our clients in their carbon reduction and net-zero emission goals, advocating for EV adoption and electrification of transportation, and participating in working groups, advisory councils, non-profit organisations, and similar public forums to advance green initiatives on local, national, and global levels. As a software company, our goal is to further the digital charging experience with a user-first approach in our mobile and SaaS products.
What is your company’s proudest achievement to date?
AmpUp’s proudest achievement to date is hitting our aggressive milestones despite a worldwide pandemic and nearly 100% of our employees working remote. Our flagship product, Community Manager, was launched in March 2020 just as the pandemic was taking shape. Despite an immense amount of uncertainty, the company still found a way to deploy thousands of charging stations and sign on many new partners in 2020 and beyond.
What specifically attracts you about the prospect of expanding to the Japanese market?
Japan has incredible potential to decarbonise transportation and lead the electric mobility sector due to the country’s rich technology history and unique energy mix. We believe the Japanese market can move quickly to deploy new technologies such as EV charging, as well as iterate on product improvements. The country is also home to some of the world’s leading brands of energy products and automotive which is at the intersection of EV charging.
How will your solution/product help advance the Japanese energy sector?
AmpUp believes our world-class EV charging solution can transform energy systems and transportation at a local and global scale. We hope AmpUp’s user-friendly approach and proprietary technology can make for easy adoption of EV charging in the Japanese energy sector, such as helping prioritise vehicle charging for times of peak demand and empowering fleets to switch to electric for lower maintenance costs.