Rapidly growing EV charging app Bonnet has launched a crowdfunding campaign, inviting its 150,000-strong user base to take a stake in the company.

Bonnet was founded by Patrick Reich and Eliot Makabu, who both met and came up with the idea for Bonnet while studying electrical engineering together in London

The app was launched in 2021 to make charging as simple and easy as possible for private and fleet electric car drivers and save them from having to download multiple apps. It connects more than 90,000 electric vehicle chargers across 20+ of the most popular EV charging networks in Europe.

It’s now inviting its users to take a stake in its mission to make charging accessible for all.

Bonnet’s community has already pledged nearly £600,000 to take a stake in the company – meaning Bonnet is already overfunding.

The crowdfunding campaign launches publicly after Bonnet closed a new £3m equity injection from its current investors, including founder entrepreneurs from Tier Mobility, Wis and Deliveroo, plus notable investors such as GV (the investment arm of Google), Lightspeed Venture Partners and 20VC.

The new funding will be used by Bonnet to accelerate the business following growth during 2022. In the last three months alone, the company says it’s more than doubled its coverage in Europe and now has more than 200,000 chargers on its network. Recent additions include FM Conway’s SureCharge network and MFG EV Power in the UK and the Italian networks Enel X Way and FTX.

Plans for the next year will see the business expand its proposition with a large focus on reliability and further growth across the UK and Europe, as well as the arrival of new features for drivers and fleet managers.

Patrick Reich, CEO and co-founder of Bonnet, said: “Our long-term mission is to be the only app EV owners need to have on their phone, and this new funding from both our current and existing backers and investors will accelerate us towards that ambition.

“Since launching Bonnet, engaging with and speaking to our active driver community every day has been central to how we’ve built our service, and we are glad through this crowdfunding campaign our users will now get the opportunity to take a real stake in Bonnet and its future.”