Answer extracted from The Pitch podcast — listen to the full episode below.
How much non-dilutive funding has It's Electric actually drawn down?
It's Electric has been awarded $7 million in total non-dilutive funding but has only drawn down approximately $1.3 million to date. The initial $300,000 came from winning Hyundai's Open EV Innovation Challenge, with additional grants awarded since then.
The gap between total awarded funds and what has been drawn reflects how non-dilutive funding works in practice. Grants are typically disbursed in tranches as startups hit specific milestones, rather than deposited as a lump sum upfront. In It's Electric's case, the company qualifies for these funds as it meets deployment, commercialization, and operational targets across its city markets.
The initial $300,000 from Hyundai came when Tia Gordon submitted a cardboard and rubber prototype during the pandemic to the company's Open EV Innovation Challenge, immediately validating the core concept. As the company expanded from proof-of-concept to live deployment, it opened the door to additional non-dilutive sources—government incentives, innovation grants, and utility partnerships that reward operational scale and real-world impact rather than investor equity.
This funding structure matters strategically. By securing grants without diluting founder equity, It's Electric preserved ownership and control while building infrastructure across six cities in just ten months. The company subsequently raised a $6.5 million seed round co-led by Uber and fail-up—capital explicitly aimed at scaling further, with a target revenue goal of $14 million before moving to Series A.
"We like to say that we're the disco and sunshine of EV charging, and we're trying to make things just better and not shitty."
Tia Gordon — Co-founder, It's Electric. Gordon's background includes technology work on the 9-11 Memorial and Museum of the World Trade Center, where she led embedded technology across approximately 200 layers of infrastructure. She founded It's Electric during the pandemic and has since grown it to operate 54 chargers across six major U.S. cities, securing both non-dilutive grants and venture capital.
The remaining $5.7 million in non-dilutive awards will likely be drawn as It's Electric continues to deploy units and meets contractual performance benchmarks with city partners. The full episode details how these grant programs are structured and the specific milestones that trigger each disbursement, offering a behind-the-scenes look at how non-dilutive funding actually accelerates early-stage hardware companies.
See also
What is the current deployment scale across cities where It's Electric operates?
It's Electric currently has 54 chargers deployed across six cities (Boston, Detroit, D.C., L.A., San Francisco, and Alameda) over a 10-month period since launch.
How does It's Electric's public curbside charging address the needs of rideshare drivers versus destination charging?
Tia Gordon emphasizes that rideshare drivers lose 20-30% of their weekly revenue searching for chargers and waiting in line. Public curbside charging allows drivers to charge anywhere in the city without losing significant time or income.
What is the revenue model and payback timeline for It's Electric chargers?
Each charger costs approximately $10,300 all-in after subsidies, with a payback period of around 18 months at 40% utilization. At these rates, a single charger generates approximately $1,000 in monthly revenue in San Francisco.
Key takeaways
- $7 million in non-dilutive funding awarded; only $1.3 million drawn to date, released in tranches tied to operational milestones.
- Initial $300,000 grant came from Hyundai's Open EV Innovation Challenge, won with a cardboard and rubber prototype.
- Non-dilutive structure allowed founders to preserve equity while scaling across six cities in ten months.
- Subsequent $6.5 million seed round co-led by Uber and fail-up targets $14 million in revenue before Series A.