Breathe Battery Technologies secures £1.5 million Seed investment led by Speedinvest
(UK Tech Investment News) London-based start-up Breathe has raised £1.5m to scale up and accelerate the deployment of its intelligent battery management algorithms in electric vehicles and smartphones.
Battery management systems are the brains behind batteries in devices and vehicles. They play a critical role in enabling batteries to be used safely and to their fullest extent. Advances in this field can help vehicles run for longer and charge faster.
Founded in 2019 as a spin-out from Imperial College London, Breathe develops advanced battery management software designed to improve the performance, charging speed and lifespan of lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles and consumer electronics.
At the core of the company’s technology is Breathe Charge, a dynamic, health-adaptive charging software that applies advanced battery models and electrochemical insights directly on low-power chips within devices and vehicles. This approach allows manufacturers to optimise battery performance without requiring new hardware or materials, enabling faster charging, longer battery life and reduced costs.
The investment will help Breathe scale its engineering team, deliver client projects, and accelerate deployment of its technology across electric vehicles and consumer electronics markets.
By improving how batteries are managed, Breathe aims to support the wider transition to electrified transport and cleaner technologies, helping reduce barriers to EV adoption and contributing to the fight against climate change and air pollution.
“Faster charging times and a longer battery lifetime make EVs more attractive, reducing barriers to adoption,” says co-founder and CTO Dr Yan Zhao. “And because batteries don’t need to be made bigger to compensate for degradation over time, warranty costs are reduced, lowering the manufacturer’s costs and helping to make EVs cheaper to buy.”
Rick Hao, Principal at Speedinvest, said:
“The battery market is at an inflection point and Breathe Battery Technologies is addressing some of the biggest challenges to make batteries more efficient and reduce waste. We were impressed by the unique ‘health-adaptive charging’ technology approach, the deep battery expertise of the team, and the growing market demand. In addition to vehicles, almost every application using lithium-ion batteries could benefit from the technology. We’re excited to support the rapidly growing Breathe Battery Technologies.”
Angels who have participated in this round include Pete Hutton, former president of product groups at Arm; Adrien Cohen, co-founder and president at unicorn Tractable; Benno Jering, partner at Redline Capital; Paul Massara, ex-Centrica and RWE Executive Member, and Peter Murphy, co-founder of Covalis Capital and a leading investor in the energy transition field.