Clean energy startup Tether, based in Barcelona, raises $1.5 million in a pre-seed funding round to accelerate the development of its technology, designed to maximize grid resilience and energy efficiency.
The round was led by Draper B1 and K Fund, with participation from prominent Spanish venture capital funds and angel investors in the climate tech and mobility sectors.
Founded in 2023 at Norrsken Barcelona by Luis Medina Rivas, Tether has developed a solution that turns electric vehicles into grid-scale battery assets, coordinated through artificial intelligence. Tether’s technology learns the behavior of millions of private EVs to coordinate their charging patterns, transforming these vehicles into the world’s largest — and cleanest — distributed battery, with the capacity to strengthen the power grid. With this approach, Tether can reduce up to 7,300 tons of CO₂ per MW over the lifetime of a single vehicle. The company participates in energy balancing markets by offering EV charging flexibility, generating additional revenue for car manufacturers and charging point operators while enhancing grid stability through clean, distributed energy.
Luis Medina Rivas, founder and CEO, stated:
“The recent blackout in Spain has highlighted the growing need for flexibility in Europe. Without urgent action, grid instability could cost EU economies up to €135 billion per year by 2050, due to increased energy costs, industrial disruptions, and emergency measures. This funding round allows us to seize the moment, grow our team, and launch our product in the Nordic markets — accelerating the green energy transition without compromising grid reliability.”
Raquel Bernal, partner at Draper B1, added:
“We’re thrilled to join Tether in its mission to enable the energy transition by connecting electric vehicles to the energy market. From the start, we were impressed by the synergies between Luis and his team, their international vision, and their ability to break new ground in market transformation.”
Tether is backed by leading Southern European VC firms such as Draper B1, K Fund, Enzo Ventures, Inclimo Climate Tech Fund, Zero4Climate, and COREangels Climate, many of which focus on impact investments. The funding will be used to expand Tether’s partnerships in the Nordic countries, Germany, and Belgium; scale its engineering and commercial teams; and deepen integration with car manufacturers and grid operators. The company already has pilot projects underway with automakers and charging point operators in its target markets.
As founder and CEO, Luis has been recognized as a Future Energy Leader by the World Energy Council and as one of Spain’s Nova111 in the Energy & Engineering category. He holds a background in Electrical Engineering and Renewable Energy, and has previously worked at Florida Power & Light, GE Power, GE Solar, and Northvolt. The rest of the development team consists of engineers, mathematicians, and data scientists with experience at Amazon and EIT InnoEnergy, all sharing a passion for the green energy transition.
About Tether:
Tether is a Spanish startup developing advanced AI models that learn the behavior of millions of private EV users to predict and coordinate their charging patterns, turning electric cars into a critical — and clean — energy reserve for the grid. Tether’s mission is to transform electric vehicles into the world’s largest battery. The company collaborates directly with manufacturers such as Audi and Zeekr and has been part of the Norrsken ecosystem since its founding in 2023.
About Draper B1:
Draper B1 is an early-stage venture capital firm based in Spain. It represents Southern Europe in the Draper Venture Network, a global alliance of 25 independent VC firms with a combined portfolio of over 600 investments. Draper B1 invests in globally ambitious tech startups, offering capital, strategic advice, and access to an international network of investors and mentors.
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