Berlin-based payments and pricing platform Cariqa, designed specifically for the electric vehicle (EV) charging industry, has raised €4 million in an oversubscribed seed round.
The funding was co-led by Anthemis and Contrarian Ventures, with participation from Earth.now, Golden Egg Check, Anthemis Female Innovators Lab, and Techstars.
Rebuilding the EV payment infrastructure
Cariqa is on a mission to solve the inefficiencies and fragmentation plaguing Europe’s EV charging ecosystem. The startup’s platform gives charge point operators (CPOs) full control over pricing and payments, while offering users transparency—regardless of how they pay.
“EV drivers deserve transparent pricing. CPOs should be in control of their infrastructure,” said Tamara Ciullo, CCO and co-founder.
“Just because a fragmented and inefficient system has taken hold doesn’t mean we have to accept it.”
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Addressing a complex system
The EV charging market currently relies on outdated architecture, where CPOs must work with third-party apps or charging card providers—often resulting in over 50 different prices at a single station. Many operators try to reduce dependency by building proprietary payment tools, but this only worsens system fragmentation.
Cariqa’s platform offers a unified backend that streamlines integrations, reduces failure points by 50%, and builds trust through consistent, visible pricing.
“Imagine the price of milk changing depending on whether you pay by cash, card, or which bank you use—no one would accept that. But in EV charging, this is still normal,” said Issam Tidjani, CEO and co-founder.
“We’re rebuilding the transactional backbone of the industry.”
Built by fintech and mobility veterans
The founding team—Tidjani, Ciullo, Stefano Bonetta (CTO), and Mario La Pergola (COO)—bring experience from companies like Microsoft, GoCardless, HERE Technologies, and Virtuo. Their expertise in payments, mobility, and systems design positions Cariqa to support Europe’s EV transition with scalable infrastructure.
Next steps
With the fresh funding, Cariqa plans to expand into new European markets, grow its engineering team, and deepen partnerships with CPOs, vehicle manufacturers, and fleet operators. The startup already collaborates with major players including Pfalzwerke, EWE Go, Qwello, Q1, and Mer.
“We raised this round on the strength of our team’s execution. It’s now time to build on top of the existing platform,” added La Pergola.
