Spotlight

What if the lamppost on your street could charge your electric vehicle?

Quick Pitch: Voltpost converts existing city lampposts into modular Level 2 EV chargers—delivering affordable, fast-to-deploy urban charging without the cost or disruption of new construction.

The Problem

• Limited Access: Half of city drivers lack home garages for charging.

• Unreliable Infrastructure: 1 in 4 public chargers fail or need repair.

• High Costs: Traditional curbside chargers require costly, construction-heavy work.

Snapshot

• Industry: EV Infrastructure & Smart Cities

• Headquarters: New York City, NY

• Year Founded: 2021

• Traction: Hundreds of chargers contracted across multiple states (multi-million-dollar pipeline) 

• Partners: Zipcar, AT&T, Exelon, ComEd, NYSERDA, MassCEC, LACI

Founder Profiles

• Jeff Prosserman, Co-Founder, CEO: Serial entrepreneur recognized by Fast Company for innovation in urban infrastructure.

• Luke Mairo, Co-Founder, COO:  Columbia University alum and former renewable energy consultant driving operations and partnerships.

• Joern Vicari, Co-Founder, CTO: IoT and smart mobility veteran leading Voltpost’s modular hardware design.

Funding

• Current Round: Raising $1.5M (Seed+)

• Lead Investors: RWE (€30B energy company), Exelon (NYSE:EXC, $45B utility)

• Other Backers: Michigan Economic Development Corporation 

• Total Raised: $9.9M (Seed)

Revenue Engine

• Hardware + Software: Retrofit lamppost hardware paired with subscription-based software.

• Municipal Contracts: Recurring revenue from city and utility partnerships.

• Digital Layer: App-based charging and data management for users and operators.

What Users Love

• Installs in under an hour—no street tearing required

• 50% cheaper than traditional installations.

• Mobile app for payment and session tracking

• Works for both public and private locations (campuses, lots, apartments)

Playing Field

• Traditional Players: ChargePoint, EVgo — expensive, construction-heavy builds.

• Experimental Players: Wireless EV charging — early-stage and costly.

Why It Matters

The US EV charging market is projected to reach $125B by 2030, but urban infrastructure deployment remains slow and expensive. Cities need scalable solutions that work within existing infrastructure.

What Sets Them Apart

• Retrofit Model: Installs in minutes—no digging, no permit delays.

• Capital Efficiency: Multi-million-dollar pipeline with federal and utility backing.

• Strategic Validation: Backed by RWE and Exelon.

• Brand Equity: Featured by Fast Company (2024, 2025) and 100+ media outlets.

• Expansion: Active contracts across NY, CA, MI, IL, CT, MA, and DC.

Analysis

Bulls Case 📈 

• Solves a clear infrastructure gap for urban EV drivers.

• Utility partnerships show strong early market validation.

• Strategic backing from major energy players.

• The capital-light model allows rapid, scalable deployment.

• First-mover advantage in North American lamppost charging.

Bears Case 📉 

• Sales cycles tied to government and utility contracts.

• Reliance on third-party manufacturing partners.

• The market could attract more entrants as it matures.

• Complex local regulations and grid differences.

• Long-term maintenance of public hardware.

Verdict

Voltpost is quietly solving one of EV’s biggest challenges: accessible, low-cost urban charging. With strategic investors, a scalable retrofit model, and growing city contracts, it’s positioned as a strong acquisition target for utilities and smart-city operators aiming for nationwide coverage.

The Startup Pulse

• Anysphere — Creator of AI coding tool Cursor raised $900M at a $9B valuation led by Thrive, with a16z and Accel joining. Reflects strong investor appetite for developer-focused AI tools.

• Reflection AI — Founded by ex-Google DeepMind researchers, raised $2B to compete with OpenAI and DeepSeek on frontier models for enterprises and governments.

• Alex — AI startup automating job screening calls raised $17M to scale its interview automation platform, building richer candidate profiles for large employers.

Written by Ashher

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