With increased demand for used vehicles during COVID-19 pandemic and rapid growth in electric vehicle sales over the last several years, Recurrent projects a $10 billion addressable opportunity by 2025
SEATTLE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Recurrent, a new Seattle-based startup focused on electric vehicles (EVs), today became the first company to offer third-party reports on the battery life and range of used EVs to help car buyers with their purchase decision. Nearly half of American car buyers say they expect to own an electric car in the next 10 years according to recent surveys, but the lack of reliable information about battery condition and actual range stops most of those purchasers from choosing EVs.
“The battery in an electric car is its most expensive component, and it’s been a black box until now,” said Recurrent CEO and co-founder Scott Case. “Imagine buying a traditional used car without knowing the odometer reading. Battery health is the new odometer for electric vehicles, and we’re bringing transparency to it.”
Recurrent’s vehicle reports are available through participating car dealer websites, and EV buyers can request them directly online at www.recurrentauto.com.
“Recurrent is working on an important question we get all the time from our customers at iDrive,” said Dink Davis, Owner, iDrive1 Motorcars. “We’re one of the largest pre-owned Tesla dealerships in the country and are thrilled to offer Recurrent’s vehicle reports to our customers.”
Backed by initial seed funding from Seattle’s PSL Ventures, Recurrent was founded by two successful entrepreneurs with deep roots in Seattle’s tech industry. CEO Scott Case previously served as COO at EnergySavvy and as Entrepreneur-in-Residence at UW’s Clean Energy Institute. CTO Kyle Rippey is a veteran of Seattle startups Rover.com, Estately and Avvo. Recurrent is the 23rd spinout of Pioneer Square Labs (PSL), the Seattle-based startup studio.
“We’re a picks-and-shovels business in the EV space,” Case said. “Car buyers and dealers need to understand how to value vehicles accurately as they age to create a more liquid secondary market.”
To build its independent reports analyzing battery condition and projecting longevity, Recurrent’s nationwide fleet of volunteer EV drivers provide detailed data on range and battery conditions for their vehicles. By using thousands of cars with different battery pack configurations, from different manufacturers, in different operating environments and with different ages and odometer readings, Recurrent has built up a unique data set to train its predictive algorithms to predict future battery life and range for nearly every used EV for sale.
“Electric vehicles are where all the growth in the retail auto industry is,” said Mike Galgon, Managing Director of PSL, who serves on Recurrent’s board of directors. “Recurrent’s timing as the first mover here is perfect. They are already turning the flywheel of data collection, machine learning and user-centric design to innovate a product that clearly fits the market.”
The team behind Recurrent’s technology includes battery scientists from University of Washington’s Chemical Engineering program and technical advisors from Stanford University, Columbia University, University of Washington and Lawrence Berkeley Labs.
About Recurrent
Recurrent provides car dealers and private-party buyers with vehicle reports for used electric vehicles (EVs). By providing more transparency and confidence in pre-owned electric car transactions, Recurrent will accelerate the overall adoption of EVs. EV adoption is key to reducing the 20% of U.S. carbon emissions that are currently produced by light-duty combustion-engine vehicles. For more information, visit www.recurrentauto.com.
About Pioneer Square Labs
Pioneer Square Labs is a Seattle-based startup studio and venture firm that finances, creates and launches technology startups. For more information, visit www.psl.com.
Contacts
Christiaan Boer, cboer@cplusc.com, 406-360-5239