A Tempe-based electric vehicle charging startup recently landed a cash prize in an Arizona State University pitch competition, providing a new investment to support its rollout to sites in the Valley.
BreatheEV was awarded $50,000 at the ASU Innovation Open, held Feb. 9 at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe. Some 27 student-led startups from around the world participated in the pitch competition with eight selected for a combined $400,000 in cash prizes.
BreatheEV co-founder Max Bregman, who oversees product development, data efforts and growth for BreatheEV, said the company will use the investment to expedite its growth.
“It will help us launch at a few more sites, which is huge for us especially at our early stage,” Bregman said. “It will help drive revenue and get product out there.”
In 2022, Bregman co-founded BreatheEV, which created a platform for electric vehicle owners to locate and reserve charging stations at multifamily complexes.
Bregman was also among a group of startup founders recognized as AZ Inno’s 25 Under 25 honorees in 2023.
Since then, BreatheEV developed a web app and software in preparation for its rollout. The company has deals in the pipeline and plans to scale via partnerships with electric vehicle charging companies, hardware manufacturers and multifamily apartment complexes.
BreatheEV is working to bring new sites to market with the first electric vehicle charging stations to go live in the next several weeks, he added.
"Once that occurs we'll continue to add new locations as the year progresses," Bregman said.
Bregman said he enjoyed meeting and networking with other startup founders at the ASU Innovation Open. The interview process with judges was particularly helpful, he said, as it was similar to pitching the company to investors.
“The Innovation Open was really well done," he said. "It was a great experience for us as a company, not because of the funding, but meeting all the other young founders, speakers and judges. It was a great place to network.”
Somnair, whose team attends Johns Hopkins University, and Atomics, from Brown University, each won grand prizes of $100,000 in the competition.
Now in its eighth year, the ASU Innovation Open is designed to support collegiate entrepreneurs without them giving up equity in the company.
Event sponsors include Intel, Source Global, Avnet, the Arizona Board of Regents, eSeed Challenge and the Pittsburgh Regional Health Initiative.
“Securing investment is challenging, but this competition helps students jumpstart bringing their ideas to market,” Kyle Squires, dean of the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at ASU, said in a statement. “It’s exciting to know that, thanks to ASUio’s generous supporters, the winners will earn much-needed capital and the encouragement to make an impact through engineering.”
