The Electric Vehicle (EV) space has been heating up here in Malaysia. Last year we saw some 2,631 EVs sold in Malaysia through official distribution channels last year, representing a 860% gain from 2021 which saw 274 sold.

Now, selling EVs is one thing, but we need to ensure we’re building the infrastructure to support the ability to use these vehicles and that means building a charging network that is wide enough to support this boom.

While big players like Tesla and Gentari are trying to address this, there are also other players that are working on this. Powered by RISE is one such player. Founded in 2019, the local tech startup wanted to address a critical issue in the Electric Vehicle scene, the lack of accessible charging infrastructure.

Today the company isn’t just installing charging points, it has developed its own chargers and apps so that it doesn’t have to rely on other companies to succeed, but is this enough to defend against well funded competition that’s coming into the space?

We speak to Kray Chong, Founder and CEO of Powered by RISE, to get a better understanding of their role in the EV ecosystem, how they built their own technology, and whether they see moves by Gentari and Tesla as threats or opportunities to their long term story.