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Happy Thursday! Welcome to Electric Avenue, your Jedi Master that guides you in using the electric force for good. Now lock in Padawan - the temperature of the planet is rising! ⚡️🧙‍♂️

Here’s what we have for you today:

• E-Mobility Startup Interview: STABLE 🎙️

• Meme of the week 🤡

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Let's dive in!

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E-Mobility Startup Interview:

STABLE 🇺🇸🚀

🥳 Today, we are delighted to feature our 5th E-Mobility Startup Interview. What to expect? 🎯 

• Hand-selected startups in the e-mobility and EV charging industry ⚡️

• 1st hand insights and their story 🤓

• Cool products and tech 💡 

Find our previous editions here:

⚡Self-reliant EV charging - How XEAL Energy is tackling apartment and workplace charging - E-Mobility Startup Interview 

⚡ How FLEXeCharge wants to make charging more profitable - E-Mobility Startup Profile 

⚡Electra's Blueprint for Urban Fast Charging: Combining Tech DNA with Infrastructure Operation - E-Mobility Startup Interview 

⚡No connectivity, no problem - How Heycharge is solving underground apartment charging - E-Mobility Startup Interview 

For this edition we sat down with Rohan Puri, co-founder and CEO of Stable, the MIT-born startup that’s using AI to turn EV charging networks from cost centers into revenue drivers.

From pioneering robotic charging arms to building data-driven forecasting and adaptive pricing tools, Rohan and co-founder & CTO Jamie Schiel have grown Stable into a remote team serving utilities, developers, and operators across the US and Europe.

Read on to learn how they went from hardware prototypes to a SaaS platform that’s delivering 2.6× better site utilization and millions in added net revenue for their customers. 🚀 

Let’s dive in!

Hello, Who are you and what business did you start?

Stable uses AI-powered software to help companies plan and operate profitable EV charging networks. I (Rohan Puri) started the company in 2017 with my co-founder and CTO, Jamie Schiel, after we met at the MIT Media Lab working on sensing and machine learning projects. Today, we’re a remote team based across the US and Europe.

What's your backstory and how did you develop the idea?

We started out building robotic arms to automate plugging in autonomous EVs—deploying the first robotically operated charging facility in the US. But we quickly realized the real bottleneck wasn’t the hardware—it was the business case: most chargers weren’t being used enough. Network operators and infrastructure developers lacked the data and confidence to know where to build. That insight led us to focus on solving the location and investment risk problem, which became the foundation of Stable.

Take us through the process of building and launching the first version of your product,

The first version of Stable Evaluate gave charging developers a data-driven way to forecast demand and investment risk for new sites. It combined EV adoption forecasts, vehicle movement data, and competitive intelligence—all in one platform. We built it in close collaboration with early customers who were tired of guesswork and spreadsheets. What started as a prototype became the core of how leading networks and infrastructure investors choose where to build today.

Did you ever have an “oh shit” moment where you thought it wouldn’t work?

When the pandemic hit, all infrastructure projects paused overnight. We weren’t sure if the industry would recover fast enough to support a startup like ours. But it gave us time to double down on the product and deepen relationships with early customers. When things picked back up, we were ready.

Another big moment wasn’t so much “oh shit” as “aha.” We realized many of our customers were struggling not just with where to build, but with how to price. Utilization was lagging—even at well-placed sites. That led to our Adaptive Pricing feature, which helps networks adjust pricing based on local demand, competition, and usage patterns. It’s now a core part of how we help our customers stay profitable.

Can you break down the keys to this business model for us? What makes it work? And what do outsiders typically not understand about your business model?

We help charging networks make infrastructure profitable from day one. Our platform is sold via SaaS contracts to charge point operators, developers, and utilities—including companies like bp pulse, Blink, SWTCH, MN8, and EV Connect. We combine demand forecasts, competitive analysis, and Adaptive Pricing to make better siting and investment decisions. Most outsiders don’t realize how easy it is to lose money in this space—even a small misstep in location or pricing can sink ROI. Our tools reduce that risk and help customers confidently scale. We’re seeing real traction as the market shifts from early rollout to scale and profitability.

Let’s dive into some number. How far are you able to move the needle for Charge Point Operators?

On average, operators leveraging Stable achieve 2.6x better average site utilization compared to industry benchmarks. This improved efficiency directly translates into increased net revenue. For exmaple, Mike Battaglia, CEO of Blink Charging, shared that they "achieved a 34% improvement in efficiency, increasing net revenue across 60 locations" by utilizing our platform.

We can also share a compelling anonymous customer example. One client cut their prices by 50% and saw their energy usage go up 6x. That's a strong example of how smart pricing can really boost revenue, even if it seems counterintuitive.

And just to give you a sense of our overall impact in 2024:

• We evaluated 11,371 EV charging sites with financial-grade IRR forecasts.

• Made 5,175 price recommendations for our customers.

• Helped fix 1,106 incorrect EV charger app listings, a small but important way to improve driver experience and site discovery.

• Overall, these efforts helped boost our customers' net revenue by upwards of +34%.

Since launch, what growth channels have been most effective for you? 

Organic thought leadership on LinkedIn has been surprisingly effective—our customers are on there, and we’ve seen strong inbound interest from posts that speak directly to the industry’s pain points. Events, word-of-mouth, and referrals from happy customers also play a big role. As the market matures, trust and results have become our strongest growth drivers.

What platforms/tools are absolutely crucial for running your business? What business do you wish someone else would build that would make your job easier?

We rely on Notion for internal operations, Figma for design, and Metabase for product usage and data analysis. On the product side, we work with a lot of location-based data—things like demand forecasts, EV adoption, and available grid information. Public datasets like AFDC and census data are incredibly valuable, and we shouldn’t take them for granted. But there's still a major gap when it comes to accessible, site-specific grid capacity data. A national database that consolidates that kind of information would make a big difference for the whole industry.

What are some strong opinions you have about leadership, and how do you actually put those into practice in your company?

I try to lead with clarity, consistency, and a real commitment to the work. We keep things open—regular two-way feedback, honest conversations, and transparency around how we’re doing and where we’re going.

For example, one of our core values is to “Work in Public” where we share updates in public channels vs private DMs wherever possible. This helps bring accountability and transparency to our work, which is really important in a remote company.

I think it’s important to stay focused on the craft itself, to always be improving, and to care not just about the mission, but about how we get there as a team.

Where can we go to learn more?

If you’re curious about how it works, schedule a demo—we’d love to show you around. You can also follow us on LinkedIn for updates and insights: both my profile and Stable’s page. 

Meme of the Week 🤡

🤣🤣🤣

That's a wrap for this week! Let us know how you feel and leave some feedback (We read every single one of these 🙂 ):

Reader Review of the Week ✍️

Selected ⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️Freakin’ awesome on ⚡Finding the Sweet Spot: Utilization vs. Wait Time 🔌 and wrote:

“As always, a great read—insightful and up-to-date news from the world of charging infrastructure and electric mobility, served with a delightful touch of humor.”

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DISCLAIMER: None of this is financial or tax advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. The Electric Avenue team may hold investments in or may otherwise be affiliated with the companies discussed.