Ample: $330M Battery Swapping Unicorn's Chapter 11 Collapse

Ample, Inc., the San Francisco-based EV battery swapping startup that raised more than $330 million and reached unicorn status after a Blackstone-backed funding round, filed chapter 11 on December 16, 2025 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. The company built modular battery systems and swap stations that can replace a depleted battery with a fully charged one in five to ten minutes, targeting fleet operators rather than consumer drivers. The filing seeks to run a court-supervised Section 363 sale or recapitalization while preserving value in Ample's technology platform.

In the CRO Declaration, Ample attributed its collapse to "severe supply chain disruptions", a contraction in public and private renewable investment, and the reduction or delay of government incentives for EV adoption. The debtor reduced headcount from 198 employees to two full-time staff and retained 15 contractors for operational continuity. The court has since entered a Final DIP Order approving Ample's $6 million DIP facility and a Bidding Procedures Order that sets a March 2026 sale calendar. A separate Thermal Chamber Sale Motion seeks to sell a thermal test chamber, with a hearing scheduled for January 28, 2026.

The filing comes during a pullback in climate tech capital. Global climate tech funding fell 40% in 2024 and EV tech deal activity declined 61%, while EV charging deployment forecasts were revised downward and the NEVI program was paused after minimal funds had been deployed.

Court	U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of Texas (Houston Division)
Case Number	25-90817 (Lead); 25-90816 (Ample Texas EV, LLC)
Petition Date	December 15-16, 2025
Judge	Hon. Christopher M. Lopez
Debtor(s)	Ample, Inc.
Affiliate	Ample Texas EV, LLC
Headquarters	San Francisco, California
Total Funding Raised	$330+ million
Stated Assets	$10-50 million
Stated Liabilities	$10-50 million
Convertible Notes (Unsecured)	$35 million (matures July 2026)
Employees at Filing	2 full-time + 15 contractors
DIP Facility	$6 million (Twelve Bridge Capital, LLC)
General Bar Date	February 28, 2026 (5:00 p.m. CT)
Governmental Bar Date	June 15, 2026 (5:00 p.m. CT)
Bid Deadline	March 2, 2026 (5:00 p.m. CT)
Auction	March 4, 2026 (10:00 a.m. CT, if needed)
Sale Hearing	March 9, 2026 (11:00 a.m. CT)
Claims Agent	Verita Global (Kurtzman Carson Consultants)

Court-approved 363 sale process and near-term milestones

Case posture. The debtors filed sequential Voluntary Petitions on December 15 and December 16, 2025, and sought complex case treatment to run an expedited sale process. The court entered orders approving joint administration, complex case status, cash management, utilities, and insurance relief at the initial hearing, while extending schedules and statements to January 29, 2026. Employee wage payments were approved for the two remaining employees, but the court deferred a ruling on approximately $100,000 in prepetition contractor obligations.

DIP financing structure. Ample obtained a $6 million new-money DIP Facility from Twelve Bridge Capital, LLC that carries a 13.0% interest rate, a 3.90% commitment fee, a 1.0% funding fee, and a 1.75% exit fee. The Final DIP Order authorizes the full facility and requires a professional fee reserve equal to the first two weekly periods of budgeted fees, with a post-trigger carve-out cap of $250,000. The DIP is structured without a roll-up of prepetition debt, and the release provisions were narrowed to the interim draw and lender performance.

Bar dates and objections. The Bar Date Order entered January 8, 2026 sets the general claims deadline for February 28, 2026 at 5:00 p.m. CT and the governmental bar date for June 15, 2026 at 5:00 p.m. CT. The order also establishes that amended schedules and rejection-related claims are due 30 days after notice of the amendment or rejection order, whichever is later. A separate sale order calendar sets a February 20, 2026 sale objection deadline and a March 6, 2026 supplemental objection deadline.

Bidding procedures. The Bidding Procedures Order sets a March 2, 2026 bid deadline, a March 4, 2026 auction (if needed), and a March 9, 2026 sale hearing. Those dates replace the earlier proposed February schedule and give the debtors roughly 80-85 days from petition to sale hearing.

Sale rationale and value focus. The debtors have emphasized that a chapter 11 process is required to sell or recapitalize the business because the operational, technical, and financing complexities made an out-of-court transaction impractical. The sale process is designed to preserve the core IP, software, and modular battery platform while allowing bidders to decide how much of the manufacturing footprint, fleet relationships, and pilot infrastructure to assume.

Stalking horse and credit bid framework. The sale order allows the debtors to designate a stalking horse bidder and provides that any approved stalking horse protections will be treated as an administrative expense claim. The DIP lender is also permitted to submit a credit bid notice by the bid deadline, signaling that lender participation is contemplated if third-party bidding does not materialize.

Early asset monetization. While the larger sale process proceeds, the debtors filed a Thermal Chamber Sale Motion to sell a walk-in EV testing thermal chamber to Amperesand Inc. for $150,000 on an as-is, where-is basis. The DIP lender consented to exclude the equipment from DIP collateral, with liens attaching to sale proceeds. The court scheduled a hearing on that motion for January 28, 2026.

Real estate rationalization. The debtors also filed a Lease Rejection Motion to reject certain real property leases as part of the wind-down and sale preparation. A landlord objection filed in late January indicates disputes over rejection timing and damages.

Business model and battery swapping technology

Founding and mission. Ample was founded in 2014 by Khaled Hassounah and John De Souza to solve slow charging times and infrastructure incompatibility for commercial fleets. The company positioned itself as a software-plus-hardware infrastructure provider that could reduce downtime for fleet operators and accelerate EV adoption in dense, high-utilization markets.

Corporate footprint. The parent company is headquartered in San Francisco, while Ample Texas EV, LLC housed operational and manufacturing activities.

Modular battery architecture. The company built modular battery packs that can be rearranged into different configurations for multiple vehicle types. The system uses robots to swap batteries in five to ten minutes, compared with 20-30 minutes at DC fast chargers. Court filings describe the modular packs as snapping together "like Legos," a design intended to avoid the standardization problems that hurt earlier battery swapping models.

Cross-platform compatibility. Instead of pushing automakers toward a single standardized battery, Ample's approach allows vehicles with different physical layouts to accept battery modules that can be combined into the required capacity. That design choice is central to the company's ability to serve mixed fleets and deploy swapping stations without a single OEM lock-in.

Grid and charging optimization. By charging depleted batteries off-peak, the system can lower grid stress and reduce energy costs for fleet operators.

Fleet-first economics. Ample focused on fleets that value uptime and predictable utilization, including ride-hailing, logistics, and last-mile delivery. Fleet operators can use off-peak charging windows and reduce battery degradation by keeping batteries in more stable charge cycles, while swap stations allow vehicles to stay in service rather than parked on chargers.

Rapid deployment. Swapping stations are designed for rapid installation and can go live in as little as three days. That modular deployment model differentiated Ample from large-scale charging infrastructure projects that often require longer permitting and construction timelines.

Funding history and unicorn valuation

Capital formation. Ample raised a series of venture rounds and strategic investments during the 2018-2024 clean-tech funding cycle. Key rounds include a 2018 Series A of $31 million led by Shell Ventures, a 2021 Series C of $160 million led by Moore Strategic Ventures, and a 2024 Series D of $25 million from Mitsubishi Corporation. In November 2021, Ample also raised an additional $30 million earmarked for European expansion.

Strategic funding goals. The 2024 Mitsubishi investment was described as the first close of a targeted $75 million round intended to scale from dozens of stations to hundreds of stations and thousands of vehicles.

Unicorn milestone. The Blackstone-led investment announced in November 2021 brought Ample's valuation to more than $1 billion, giving the company unicorn status roughly seven years after founding. That round included participation from Banco Santander and added Blackstone to Ample's board.

Investor mix. Beyond Blackstone and Shell Ventures, Ample drew capital from Repsol Energy Ventures, ENEOS, Momentum Venture Capital, and Rose Park Advisors along with other strategic and institutional investors tied to the transportation and energy sectors. The company reported total funding of more than $330 million before filing.

The total funding figure also reflects earlier seed and bridge financings not captured in public round announcements, which helps reconcile the $330+ million headline with the major rounds above.

Partnerships and pilots across three continents

Uber and fleet electrification. Ample opened its first Bay Area swap stations for Uber drivers in March 2021, allowing drivers to exchange batteries in less than 10 minutes. By 2023, the company operated 12 Bay Area stations that handled several hundred swaps per day for Uber drivers leasing Nissan Leafs and Kia Niros. The partnership was later expanded to Europe, with Uber aiming to electrify half of rides booked across seven European capitals by 2025.

European expansion goals. The Europe-focused funding round in late 2021 supported a planned expansion into London, Amsterdam, Brussels, Berlin, Paris, Madrid, and Lisbon. Those markets were viewed as test beds where dense urban usage could produce higher station utilization and more predictable unit economics.

Stellantis and Free2Move in Madrid. In December 2023, Stellantis and Ample entered a binding agreement to integrate Ample's modular swapping system into Stellantis EVs. The Madrid Free2Move pilot began with 40 Fiat 500e vehicles and was planned to expand to 100 units by mid-2025, positioning battery swapping as a potential bridge to broader consumer adoption.

Japan expansion with ENEOS, Mitsubishi, and Yamato. Ample launched its first Japanese swap stations in Kyoto with ENEOS and MK Taxi, selecting Kyoto for its symbolic role in emissions reduction policy and the Kyoto Protocol. The initial Kyoto pilot validated the ability to operate swapping stations with multiple vehicle types and commercial fleets simultaneously. The company later announced a Tokyo pilot that will deploy 150+ commercial EVs and 14 swap stations beginning in late 2025. The Tokyo program is supported by a Tokyo Metropolitan Environmental Public Corporation grant and includes Mitsubishi Fuso eCanter trucks, Mitsubishi Motors Minicab EVs, and Yamato Transport fleets, with swap times targeted at roughly five minutes and drivers staying in their vehicles during the swap.

Fisker partnership. Ample also partnered with Fisker to develop battery-swappable Fisker Ocean vehicles for fleet operators, with a planned launch by early 2024. Fisker filed chapter 11 in June 2024, underscoring the broader fragility of the EV startup ecosystem.

Financial position and capital structure at filing

Balance sheet ranges. The Voluntary Petition estimates both assets and liabilities in the $10 million to $50 million range. Within those ranges, the company disclosed $35 million of unsecured convertible notes maturing in July 2026, net property and equipment of roughly $57 million as of September 30, 2025, and a potential $6 million duty drawback recovery tied to customs refunds.

Debt profile. The convertible notes mature on July 3, 2026, which means the chapter 11 process effectively pulls a near-term maturity into a short sale calendar. Because the notes are unsecured and the company did not have a traditional secured revolver, the DIP facility becomes the primary secured capital stack in the case and will have first-priority liens on most assets.

Operating cost structure. With only two employees on payroll and 15 contractors retained for continuity, the estate runs a minimal wage burn. Court filings indicate semi-monthly payroll of about $20,000, contractor costs around $100,000, and monthly utilities near $19,800. Those costs are expected to be funded through the DIP facility while the sale process proceeds.

Capital structure. The company did not have a traditional secured credit facility at filing, and the convertible noteholders represent the largest unsecured constituency.

Clean-tech funding pullback and battery swapping economics

Capital market reversal. Ample's bankruptcy tracks a broader retreat in climate tech capital. CB Insights reported that global climate tech funding fell 40% year over year in 2024, mega-round funding fell 47%, and EV tech deal activity dropped 61%. That funding retrenchment made it harder for capital-intensive companies to extend runway while still building infrastructure.

Infrastructure headwinds. EV charging deployment targets were also revised downward. S&P Global expects 18.4 million chargers worldwide by 2030, down from prior forecasts, and estimates North America will install about 120,000 chargers in 2025 rather than the 160,000+ once expected. The International Energy Agency reported that the U.S. increased its charging stock by 20% in 2024 to just under 200,000 public charging points but that only around $30 million of the $5 billion NEVI program had been spent on operational sites before an Executive Order paused the program in January 2025.

Battery swapping market size. Despite near-term headwinds, market forecasts still assume long-term growth. Grand View Research estimated the battery swapping infrastructure market at $240.7 million in 2024 with a projected 23.6% CAGR through 2030. The battery-as-a-service model can reduce upfront vehicle costs by 30-40%, but it requires dense station networks and significant capital before utilization reaches breakeven.

Charging infrastructure comparison. The same research firm estimates the U.S. EV charging infrastructure market at $5.09 billion in 2024 with a projected 30.3% CAGR through 2030, and notes that fast charging accounted for more than 60% of market share.

Scale comparisons. NIO, which operates the largest battery swapping network, reported 2,432 swap stations in China as of June 2024 and plans to reach 4,000 globally by 2025. Less than one-fifth of NIO's stations are currently breaking even, illustrating the tension between infrastructure scale and profitability.

Historical precedent. The most notable prior attempt at large-scale battery swapping was Better Place, which raised roughly $850 million and filed for bankruptcy in Israel in May 2013. At its peak, Better Place operated 21 swap stations in Israel and deployed fewer than 1,000 Fluence Z.E. cars across Israel and Denmark. Commentary on its collapse emphasized the risks of attempting to standardize batteries across all automakers and the capital burden of building nationwide infrastructure before consumer adoption materialized.

Some early Ample pitches were reportedly dismissed because backers remembered the Better Place failure.

Other clean-tech bankruptcies. Ample's filing follows several clean-tech chapter 11 filings in 2024-2025, including Northvolt, SunPower, Fisker, and Canoo.

Case administration and stakeholder landscape

Professional team. The debtors retained Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP as lead counsel and Porter Hedges LLP as local counsel. John D. Baumgartner and Ann Huynh serve as chief restructuring officer and co-CRO, while Gordian Group, LLC is engaged as investment banker. Verita Global (Kurtzman Carson Consultants) acts as claims and noticing agent. The UCC retained Porzio, Bromberg & Newman, P.C. as counsel with Dykema Gossett PLLC as local counsel, and the DIP lender is represented by Fishel Law Group.

Unsecured creditor committee. The U.S. Trustee appointed an Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors on December 30, 2025. The committee includes Avalon Technologies Limited, MingChing Industrial, Qingdao Huarui Hardware Products Co., Ltd., and individual creditor Sabrina Ohanian. The UCC will participate in the sale process and advocate for general unsecured creditors, including the convertible noteholders.

Key stakeholders. Service list disclosures identify Transform Ample, LP, New Ground Ventures II, LP, Tamarack Global Opportunities I LP, and TQL Global, LLC as parties in interest or major creditors. With $35 million in unsecured convertible notes and limited secured debt beyond the DIP, the unsecured creditor body will have significant influence in the sale process and any eventual plan.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Ample, Inc.?

Ample is a San Francisco-based clean-tech startup founded in 2014 that developed modular battery swapping technology for electric vehicles. Its automated stations could swap a depleted battery for a fully charged one in five to ten minutes, focusing on fleet operators such as ride-hailing and logistics companies.

Why did Ample file for chapter 11 bankruptcy?

The company cited severe supply chain disruptions, a contraction in public and private investment in renewable energy, and the reduction or delay of government incentives for EV adoption. Those pressures made it difficult to fund the capital-intensive rollout of swapping stations and fleet conversions.

What is the timeline for the Section 363 sale process?

The court-approved schedule sets a February 20, 2026 sale objection deadline, a March 2, 2026 bid deadline, a March 4, 2026 auction (if multiple qualified bids are received), and a March 9, 2026 sale hearing. The general bar date for non-governmental claims is February 28, 2026, with a governmental bar date of June 15, 2026.

What DIP financing is in place?

Ample secured a $6 million DIP facility from Twelve Bridge Capital, LLC. The facility carries a 13.0% interest rate and includes commitment, funding, and exit fees, with no roll-up of prepetition debt. The final DIP order authorizes the full facility and requires a professional fee reserve.

How many employees remain at Ample?

The company reduced its workforce from 198 employees to two full-time staff, retaining 15 contractors to support operations and knowledge transfer during the sale process.

What assets are being marketed or sold?

Ample is pursuing a going-concern sale or recapitalization of substantially all assets, primarily centered on its modular battery swapping technology and related intellectual property. The debtors also filed an emergency motion to sell a thermal testing chamber for $150,000 as a separate asset sale.

Who were Ample's major investors and partners?

Investors included Shell Ventures, Blackstone, Mitsubishi Corporation, ENEOS, Repsol Energy Ventures, and Moore Strategic Ventures. Partners included Uber for Bay Area swap stations, Stellantis for a Madrid Fiat 500e pilot, and Mitsubishi and Yamato Transport for a Tokyo pilot involving 150+ EVs and 14 swap stations.

How does Ample's model compare with other battery swapping efforts?

Battery swapping can reduce charging downtime to minutes, but it requires heavy infrastructure investment and standardized operations. NIO, the largest operator, reported 2,432 swap stations as of mid-2024, yet fewer than one-fifth of those stations are currently profitable.

What is the broader market outlook for battery swapping?

Grand View Research estimates the battery swapping infrastructure market at $240.7 million in 2024 with a projected 23.6% CAGR through 2030. The model offers lower upfront vehicle costs but requires significant upfront station investment and high utilization to reach breakeven.

Who is the claims agent for Ample, Inc.?

Verita Global (Kurtzman Carson Consultants) serves as the claims and noticing agent. The firm maintains the official claims register and distributes case notifications to creditors and parties in interest.

Read more chapter 11 case research on the ElevenFlo blog.