From Road Trip to Revolution: Steam-A’s Origin

The Road Less Charged

In the rapidly evolving world of electric mobility, where sleek vehicles and green promises dominate headlines, one lingering problem remains largely unsolved: the reliability of EV charging infrastructure. For Vishwanath Surendiran—better known as Vishwa—this wasn’t just a technical hurdle. It was an opportunity.

“I’d been observing the impact of EVs on energy grids since 2015,” says Vishwa, co-founder of Steam-A, an intelligent EV charging platform. “At first, it felt like an annoyance as EVs were causing noticeable changes to age-old demand patterns. But the deeper I dug, the clearer it became: this wasn’t just a nuisance—it was a massive, untapped opportunity”.

From an energy veteran with global experience to a founder steering a startup with billion-mile ambitions, Vishwa’s journey is as electric as the future he’s building.

From M&A to EVs: The Spark Behind Steam-A

Vishwa’s professional roots trace back to PSG Tech and later IIM Bangalore. He spent over 15 years optimizing energy operations across the UK and Europe, with stints in M&A due diligence for multi-billion-euro acquisitions. But the turning point came not in a boardroom, but during a family road trip.

“In 2021, my wife and I took an eight-month sabbatical, exploring the UK and Europe in a camper van with our kids,” he recalls. “We saw firsthand the EV boom—and the frustrations that came with charging.” A chance meeting with an old colleague, Pon Paulraj, who had deep expertise in EV charging innovation, sealed the deal. Steam-A was born.

It wasn’t a single lightbulb moment, but a culmination of years of exposure, frustration, and passion for net-zero solutions that sparked the idea.

A Broken System—and a Fix in the Making

While most startups chase scale, Steam-A zeroed in on a pain point many others ignored: service anxiety. “Range anxiety gets all the attention,” Vishwa explains, “but it disappears within a week of EV ownership. Service anxiety—where you don’t know if a charging station will actually work—that's the real problem.”

According to Steam-A’s research, nearly 40% of public charging attempts fail. “Imagine pulling into a petrol station and only finding fuel 60% of the time,” he quips. This staggering inefficiency was paired with another overlooked challenge: the strain EVs place on energy grids.

Thus, Steam-A’s dual mission emerged: make EV charging reliable, and manage energy demand intelligently.

The Founding Team: A Fusion of Engineering and Art

Vishwa didn’t go it alone. His co-founder—and life partner—Vasanthaa Piriya helped anchor the venture both strategically and emotionally. “Building this company with my wife has been one of the most meaningful parts of this journey,” he says.

They were soon joined by key early members: Pon Paulraj from the Netherlands, who brought in deep EV experience, and Nagarajan, a seasoned technologist. Together with a small but passionate team of designers and analysts, they laid the foundation for Steam-A’s flagship platform, Iris.

“We weren’t building in isolation,” says Vishwa. “We worked from client offices, rode along on field calls, and did everything we could to ground ourselves in reality.”

Building Iris: Grounded Tech, Not Flashy Features

Today, Iris is more than a product—it’s a suite of smart tools tailored for ChargePoint operators and EV fleet managers. From Iris Network to Iris Energy, each module addresses real-world pain points.

“Our platform wasn’t built in an ivory tower. It was built from the trenches,” Vishwa insists. Their first major client, Zeon Charging, became a design partner. The collaboration paid off: Zeon replaced an industry-standard software with Steam-A’s platform. Post-transition, app ratings soared from 3.9 to 4.6 on Google Play and from 4.1 to 4.7 on the App Store.

They also managed to migrate over 800,000 records with 100% accuracy—no small feat in an industry plagued by technical mismatches and unreliable systems.

Culture as the Operating System

At Steam-A, culture isn’t an HR afterthought—it’s the company’s OS. “We wrote a 15-page Culture Handbook before we wrote our business plan,” Vishwa laughs.

Their workplace celebrates balance, diversity, and creativity. “Our team includes poets, dancers, actors, singers, even YouTubers. We look for technologists who are also artists,” he shares.

Even recruitment reflects this ethos. “Our interviews often feature candidates performing—singing, storytelling, even stand-up comedy. It tells us so much about how they’ll think, work, and lead.”

This cultural intentionality pays off: Steam-A boasts a 0.5% annual attrition rate—a stark contrast to the 18–24% industry average.

From South India to the World

Steam-A’s growth hasn’t been confined to Indian roads. They’re now in active talks with prospects in Europe and the UK. “There’s a global consolidation underway in EV charging,” Vishwa notes. “It’s the perfect time for companies like ours—small, focused, and ruthlessly outcome-driven.”

Their five-year vision? To become the default intelligence layerfor EV infrastructure. “We want to manage a million chargers across continents, powering a billion electric miles every single day,” Vishwa declares.

Lessons from the Frontlines

Building Steam-A hasn’t been without challenges. In hindsight, Vishwa wishes he’d separated his personal and professional transitions more cleanly. “We moved back to India from the UK while launching Steam-A. It was overwhelming. If I could do it again, I’d space those changes out.”

His advice to aspiring founders? “Focus on real problems. Deliver outcomes, not features. Build for value—not valuation. And above all, be resilient. Startups don’t fail. Founders give up.”

 A Rising Reputation—and Humble Reflections

Ask Vishwa about his proudest moment, and he doesn’t talk about funding or headlines. He talks about reputation.

“We’re increasingly being recognized without having to introduce ourselves. At a national event, someone said, ‘I’ve only heard good things about you.’ That meant everything,” he says.

There’s also pride in the impact: “Our clients—like ZappangCharging, HydraCharging, Boom Cabs EV, Montra Electric Tivolt—are shaping the future of mobility. We’re just happy to be enabling them.”

The Final Word: Charging Ahead

Steam-A is more than a startup—it’s a systems-level rethink of how EV infrastructure should work. With every mile powered, every failure prevented, and every client delighted, they inch closer to their bold 2030 vision.

But for Vishwa, the journey is the reward. “We take joy in the journey, not just the destination,” he says, echoing Steam-A’s internal mantra.

And in an industry chasing speed, that grounded, thoughtful approach may just be the key to staying ahead.

Stay Connected with Steam-A

Want to learn more about Steam-A’s work or get in touch with Vishwanath Surendiran?

Whether you're a fellow founder, a ChargePoint operator, or just an EV enthusiast, Steam-A’s journey offers a powerful reminder: solving real problems—with empathy, grit, and purpose—is the surest way to build something that lasts