LONDON, Oct 29 (Reuters) - Denmark's Monta, which

develops software solutions for the electric vehicle charging

industry, has expanded into the U.S. market and aims to have one

million charging points connected to its platform within five

years, the company said on Tuesday.

"We've been looking for a while at the U.S. market, which

has been a couple of years behind Europe for EV adoption," CEO

Casper Rasmussen, who has moved to Miami to oversee the U.S.

expansion, told Reuters. "It's a very large market, so we want

to be there when it starts picking up."

Earlier this year Monta raised 80 million euros ($87

million) of Series B funding to increase research and

development spending and expand its partner network.

The Copenhagen-based company has now raised a total of 130

million euros since its founding in 2020.

Monta's platform helps charging companies manage their

networks while also providing consumer-facing apps showing EV

owners where to find and book chargers.

U.S. EV sales have soared by over 140% since the start of

2023, but additional growth may be hindered by a far slower and

more uneven rollout of public charging stations.

The Biden administration has faced criticism for the slow

deployment of EV charging stations from a $5-billion U.S.

government programme created in 2021. In August, the

administration announced $521 million in charging infrastructure

grants.

Rasmussen said Monta had seen a growing number of U.S.

regional charging companies set up to compete in this growing

market.

"It's a race on who gets the most set up and who can make a

profitable business," Rasmussen said. "Then in a few years,

they'll start consolidating."

In 2023 Monta added some new strategic partners including

Siemens and said its annual recurring revenue grew

600%, though it did not provide specific numbers.