WEX Venture Capital seeks to invest up to $100M in startups focused on fleet electrification

The Board of Directors of Portland-based WEX on Thursday announced the establishment of its new investment arm, WEX Venture Capital to invest up to $100 million by the end of 2025 in early-stage startups focused on fleet electrification, electric vehicle charging ecosystem, energy management and optimization, and related technologies.

The firm has already started to deploy capital, including minority investments that were recently made in the Netherlands-based Chargetrip and UK-based ev.energy.

"WEX Venture Capital's investments will be aimed at supporting companies focused on the critical back-end infrastructure necessary to achieve widespread commercial EV adoption, while also creating new value for WEX's global fleet customers navigating the evolving electric mobility ecosystem," said Melissa Smith, Chair, Chief Executive Officer, and President, WEX. "This is a crucial moment for WEX and the larger fleet industry, and we're proud to help lead this transition."

The new investment arm will help diversify WEX's long-term strategy by helping the company identify new revenue models, provide visibility beyond WEX's current roadmap and participate in early-stage product innovation ecosystem as many of it fleet mobility customers begin to migrate from internal combustion engine vehicles to EVs and hybrid fleets as part of the energy transition underway globally.

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WEX Venture Capitals recently invested in Chargetrip, a company focused on range prediction and EV routing for private drivers and commercial fleets. Further, earlier this week, it also invested $33 million in Series B round of financing in UK-based ev.energy, a company that offers charging software platform for EVs.

Given its leading position in the fuel payments industry, serving over 600,000 fleet customers worldwide, WEX Venture Capital will help WEX play a meaningful role in the greater electric mobility ecosystem by assisting a variety of new stakeholders, from energy suppliers to charge point operators, OEMs, and energy markets, among others as they streamline the future of charging and payments with the adoption of EVs.

"The investment from WEX Venture Capital is a major step towards our goal to be the number one design partner for electrifying fleets," said Gideon van Dijk, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, Chargetrip.

"With WEX's network and fleet software expertise, Chargetrip will be able to access new customers, benefit from WEX leadership's knowledge, and grow its North American presence," he added.