EV fast-charging company Crocus succeeds in $5 mn Series B funding

Crocus Inc., a South Korean startup focused on energy infrastructure and leveraging artificial intelligence (AI), announced on Wednesday that it raised 6.4 billion won ($4.9 million) in a Series B funding round. This brings the total investment in the company to 15.6 billion won ($12.1 million).

Crocus offers an energy-integrated solution based on AI, with the "Acelo EV" electric vehicle fast-charging system and "Acelo Grid" power optimization control solution.

E&Investment, Pioneer Investment, Shinhan Asset Management and S&S Investment led this latest investment round, which came almost a year after a bridge investment by KB Investment in April last year.

The investors were impressed by Crocus's technical expertise and growth potential in the electric vehicle charging and power optimization control market.

As the world accelerates the transition from internal combustion engines to electric vehicles to achieve carbon neutrality, the electric vehicle charging market is growing rapidly.

Crocus has received high praises in the market for its electric vehicle fast-charging system, which leverages smart charging technology that enables active power distribution. Its power optimization control technology, which uses AI to analyze a company's energy consumption patterns and reduce energy costs by controlling power equipment, is projected to become a billion-dollar market.

Crocus is currently upgrading its smart control technology through an 18-billion-won ($13.9-million) R&D project commissioned by the Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning.

"Both the electric vehicle charging and power control markets are growing further amid the worldwide energy supply-demand imbalance. We highly evaluated Crocus' technical expertise in the electric vehicle charging and power control fields, which are at the highest level in Korea," said Yeom Seung-won, director of investment screening at E&Investment, who participated in the latest investment round.

Crocus CEO Im Ji-seop expressed his gratitude for the recognition, stating that they will continue to strive as a company to achieve meaningful results in the global market.

Write to Jong-Woo Kim at jongwoo@hankyung.com