Cariqa Secures €4M to Fix EV Charging Price Chaos
The Cariqa team: Tamara Ciullo (Co-Founder and CCO), Stefano Bonetta (Co-Founder and CTO), Issam Tidjani (Co-Founder and CEO), Mario La Pergola (COO and CFO) - © Cariqa
Berlin-based startup Cariqa has secured €4 million in seed funding to tackle one of electric mobility's biggest headaches: chaotic pricing at public charging stations. The company's end-to-end payment platform aims to give charging operators full control over pricing, payment processing, and regulatory compliance.
According to Gründerszene, the funding round was co-led by Berlin-based fintech investor Anthemis and Lithuanian VC Contrarian Ventures. Additional investors include Earth, Female Innovators Lab by Anthemis, Golden Egg Check, and Techstars.
The problem Cariqa addresses is significant: a single charging point can have up to 50 different pricing models depending on which app or card customers use. This fragmentation creates confusion for drivers and inefficiencies for operators.
"We're rebuilding the industry's transactional backbone for more uniformity, transparency, and trust," explains CEO and co-founder Issam Tidjani. The platform eliminates the need for third-party roaming platforms, reducing interfaces and error sources by up to 50 percent.
Cariqa already counts major charging operators among its customers, including Pfalzwerke, EWE Go, Qwello, Q1, and Mer. The company plans to use the fresh capital to enhance its product, expand into European markets, and strengthen partnerships with charging point operators, automakers, and fleet providers.
The startup was founded in 2022 by former Here Technologies employees: Tidjani (CEO), Stefano Bonetta (CTO), and Tamara Ciullo (CCO). The team previously raised €1 million in pre-seed funding in September 2024.
With Berlin's growing reputation as a hub for mobility innovation, Cariqa represents another example of the city's thriving tech ecosystem addressing real-world infrastructure challenges.
