Virta raised 30 million euros funding in the round, which will catalyze electrification of mobility in global scale. Today the Virta platform is used in more than 30 countries by nearly a thousand B2B-customers, including several of the largest companies in the world representing a variety of industries. The company’s mission is to accelerate global transition to sustainable mobility by empowering large enterprises to run electric vehicle charging business, serving eventually millions of new EV drivers in their everyday life.
The investment round was completed in April 2021, led by Jolt Capital, a growth equity firm focused on scaling European technology companies and two co-investors, Tesi (Finnish Industry Investment) and Vertex Growth. Also all Virta shareholders participated in the round. The first closing of the round was accomplished in April 2020 with ENEOS, the leading integrated energy company from Japan.
Electric vehicles go mainstream country by country
EV sales and related charging technology markets are growing all over the world. In leading market areas most new passenger cars are already electric, and in a number of countries the markets are reaching a significant market share exceeding 20 percent.
Virta offers a unique solution to launch, scale and operate commercial EV charging services for different industries such as energy, oil and real estate – as a primary business or as a value-added service. Virta’s patented innovations provide a seamless digital user experience, which different companies can co-brand further to their end customers.
“New technologies can change the world for better only when they are sustainable environmentally, societally and businesswise. Together with new technology-driven investors we catalyze transition to sustainable mobility in scale also in new markets by empowering large industrial partners’ EV charging business” says Virta’s CEO Jussi Palola.
“As a growth capital investor scaling impactful technologies, Jolt Capital is delighted to be supporting Virta’s next phase of growth. This is a fast growing and dynamic market, and given Virta’s impressive traction and innovation to date, we’re confident it will become the leading EV charging platform in both Europe and Asia,” commented Laurent Samama, Partner at Jolt Capital.
Seeking new continental partners in Asia
The three fastest growing markets for EV sales are Asia, Europe and the US. The charging networks on Virta platform already constitute one of the largest charging ecosystems in Europe, and the company is also working with Vertex Growth to build a network of partners to operate EV charging in Asia.
“We see strong tailwinds in the global EV market amidst push by governments for EV adoption and increasing consumer awareness of environment and sustainability. Virta has built a differentiated digital transaction platform and is well-placed to address the needs of businesses as they establish and grow their EV charging network and user base. Virta is Vertex Growth’s first investment in Europe – we are excited to back the company and to partner them to expand their footprint in Asia” says TAM Hock Chuan, Managing Director of Vertex Growth.
Co-investor Tesi (Finnish Industry Investment Ltd.) invests in companies that play a key role in solving global challenges in a sustainable way. Virta business fits Tesi’s focus of transformative economic growth by enhancing energy efficiency and renewable energy.
“Virta’s unique solution for EV charging and vehicle-to-grid load balancing positions it at the heart of digitalization and electrification of mobility. With our investment we want to boost Virta’s market expansion and help grow its impact on cutting carbon emissions” says Heli Kerminen, Tesi’s Director of sustainable investments.
Electric vehicles are capable to support the energy system with vehicle-to-grid and other demand response technologies providing flexibility to enable ever increasing amount of renewable energy. Virta is one of the leading players in commercializing V2G and energy platform technologies.
*Financial Times top 1000 list of fastest growing companies in Europe
For media enquiries please contact:
Jussi Palola, CEO, Virta, jussi.palola@virta.global, tel. +358 50 434 0132
Laurent Samama, Partner, Jolt Capital, laurent.samama@jolt-capital.com, tel. +33 6 84 66 98 28
TAM Hock Chuan, Managing Director, Vertex Growth, c/o: communications@vertexholdings.com, tel +65 9112 2306
Heli Kerminen, Tesi, Director, heli.kerminen@tesi.fi, tel +358 40 077 2833
About Virta Virta is one of Europe’s fastest growing companies (FT 1000). Our platform enables companies to maximize business benefits and gives fast and cost-efficient channel to launch, operate, and scale an EV charging business. Virta operates in 30 countries globally enabling EV charging services of nearly one thousand charging networks operating on Virta Platform. Virta is one of the biggest market players in Europe offering over EV charging thorough 170,000 charging points in our roaming network. www.virta.global
About Jolt Capital Jolt Capital provides growth equity financing to European B2B technology companies about to go global and with current revenue from €15M to €50M. Led by seasoned investors and former C-level executives, Jolt Capital actively drives portfolio companies’ expansion and exits. Jolt Capital’s proprietary AI platform, Jolt.Ninja, exponentially improves mapping of Europe’s technology ecosystem, ESG-compliant deal flow generation, due diligences and post-investment activities. www.jolt-capital.com
About Vertex Growth Vertex Growth is dedicated to partnering with exceptional entrepreneurs and promising companies on the cusp of growth. The firm provides expansion capital to realize the companies’ vision of creating a category champion that is enduring and transformational. As part of the Vertex global network of venture capital funds, Vertex Growth can leverage on a broad view of innovation across the world and capture significant value arising from the Vertex eco-system of portfolio companies, partners and investors. For more information, please visit: https://vertexgrowth.com
Tesi (Finnish Industry Investment Ltd) is a state-owned investment company that wants to raise Finland to the front ranks of transformative economic growth by investing in funds and directly in companies. We invest profitably and responsibly, hand-in-hand with co-investors, to create the world’s new success stories. Our investments under management total 1.9 billion euros. www.tesi.fi | @TesiFI