Several forces are reshaping EV charging at once. Consolidation is concentrating the market around larger operators; every investment now has to prove its return, and regulation keeps expanding what you have to cover just to operate. Together, they are reopening the build-versus-buy decision that most operators thought was settled. In-house teams are being asked to develop less and spend less. Operators on all-in-one platforms want more control and an edge that their platform cannot give them.

AI has changed the terms of that decision, both in how charging software gets built and how networks get run. Johan van Kooten, Strategic Business Development Director Europe at AMPECO, sets out the evidence and the two strategic responses: narrow the focus or stay broad. Stefan Ivanov, Chief Revenue Officer at AMPECO, answers how AMPECO develops its platform, what operators have already built on it, and the 2026 priority that AI now makes possible: more depth in the capabilities operators use most, and breadth into areas that were previously out of scope for a CPMS.