Honda leads £8.6m fundraising round in smart battery software firm Moixa
Car maker Honda has led a completed £8.6m fundraising round for smart battery software company Moixa.
The firm makes software managing energy storage systems, which can help make home energy systems and electric vehicle batteries more efficient, and recently partnered up with Honda at the Geneva Motor Show in March. The two plan to work together on vehicle-to-grid trials in Britain.
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Moixa’s software uses artificial intelligence to determine how to charge batteries and use energy more efficiently. The tech company, which currently operates in the UK and Japan, said it will use the new capital to expand internationally. The London-based company secured a share of a £13m government industrial innovation fund last month.
Moixa boss Simon Daniel said the firm’s flagship software product, Gridshare, “knows when it’s most cost effective to buy energy from or sell energy to the grid. It will soon know whether it’s better to charge your car battery or use it to power your home”.
“Our investors recognise that there will be global demand for this technology. Today we are managing thousands of batteries and our goal is to manage millions.”
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Another investor was Contrarian Ventures, a fund backed by Lietuvos Energija, the biggest energy provider in the Baltics. Managing partner at Contrarian Rokas Peciulaitis said: “We're thrilled to back Moixa’s vision to manage the world’s batteries and are excited to see the further expansion of Gridshare globally.”
Car manufacturers are increasingly looking to invest in technology which could help them develop electric cars, and Honda’s partnership follows European automotive giant Volkswagen’s decision to start making its own electric car batteries and charging points.