Scalvy Soars
From "Many" Fortune 500 Deals to New Research Centers to Superior Performance!
I can not comprehend that it has been a whole year since my last post here. It is beyond me how some founders can update their networks frequently without losing a beat!
I wish I could tell you I will do better, but that is unlikely 🙂, as the following Labor Day is a year away!!
Well, the good news is that the past year could not have gone better for Scalvy, so here is what’s going on:
1- What is Scalvy’s Product
A quick reminder is that Scalvy’s product for the electric mobility market is a software-defined powertrain solution. This sounds quite vague, and I agree, but here is a concrete definition:
We define software-defined "X" as the ability of the same physical hardware system of "X" to be used in different applications while only changing its software configurations to define the application.
This results in entirely different products using different software configurations associated with the same physical hardware system "X."
In Scalvy’s case, our SIMs are the heart and soul of our technology, as shown below (a SIM that can handle 500 A, the size of a chocolate bar 🍫). Today, we use the same hardware SIMs in four projects, each in a completely different vertical, for a concept sample for one of our paying customers. The verticals are passenger automotive, commercial EV, off-road, and retrofitting EVs.
In these samples, we drive different motors using different battery cell types and regulating different DC load voltage and power levels.
The hardware can be wholly commoditized, allowing for a software-defined powertrain with superior performance and lower cost.
2- Does it work?
Yes, after two years of development, succeeding five years of academic research, it absolutely does 🙂
It worked MUCH better than my expectations when we started this company!
It is faster to develop and cheaper to supply but also lighter, safer, more compact, and remarkably more efficient.
Over the past few months, we have tested our system drivetrain features at the largest powertrain sizes, our BMS integration for most types of cells, our OBC, and our DC charging and DC/DC conversion as part of our customers’ sampling requirements.
Here is the biggest surprise: it is significantly better for the battery cells, as shown below. I will not explain why this is happening here; however, if this post reaches battery experts knowledgeable in Li-ion battery modeling and the concept of high-frequency current pulsating, they might guess the reason.
3- Commercial Traction
We have been incredibly successful at attracting the interest of the largest companies in the world in the automotive and mobility sectors.
These organizations are global, complex, and typically very slow-moving. It is incredible how quickly they responded to the opportunity and mobilized to execute agreements.
We have signed several agreements with paying customers for concept samples in automotive EVs, retrofitting electrification, commercial EVs, and off-road vehicles.
Our team is currently executing on developing the concept samples of these agreements while we are in the final rounds of negotiations with a few more paying customers.
Our concept sample customers almost entirely fund Scalvy’s technology development without giving away our IP rights.
Our revenue is in the millions of $, and we just started signing customer agreements only six weeks ago!
We have nearly ten paying customers (between signed and final negotiation talks), most of which are Fortune 500 companies.
Our business model varies based on our target electric mobility vertical, as shown below. One constant is that we are not a manufacturing company. We do not manufacture nor intend to manufacture our SIMs. We stand out by our reference designs, software layers, IP, and trade secrets, not by our production facility.
4- Team Growth
Our team quadrupled in size between my last post and this one. We are 20 strong engineers, with many senior and chief engineers joining us from Tesla, Valeo, Delphi, Borg Warner, Cummins, Volkswagen, and other noteworthy companies.
Our little secret enabled us to increase our resources while extending our runway. The secret is using overseas talent with deep electric mobility software and system engineering expertise. Companies in this space must establish global engineering centers to compete at the top level.
As many Tier-1 suppliers explored ways to reduce their expenses and improve their margins, they recruited talent from developing countries such as India, Egypt, and Mexico. This is precisely what Scalvy did.
I grew up in Egypt until I was 25 years old. I understand the culture, the rules and regulations, and how to recruit and incentivize the top talent there. I used all this to hire top talent and establish an engineering center for Scalvy in Egypt.
5- New Market Pulls
One of the VC investors was close to joining our previous round but did not for one reason: we refused to penetrate a secondary market during the seed stage. This was the right decision since we had limited resources, and the technology still needed to be proven.
However, in recent weeks, there has been quite a strong market pull towards battery energy storage systems and AI data center power supplies. This was evident in every event or expo we attended or in our interactions with battery suppliers and integrators.
We are currently choosing between different customer opportunities in both markets and are optimistic that we will have strong traction in both before the next fundraising round.
6- Series A Raise
Our Fortune 500 customers have CVC arms and are highly interested in joining our next round.
We intend to fundraise for our series A in Q1 of 2025.
By then, we will have:
Completed most of the current concept samples.
Reached a higher level of maturity in the commercial partnership agreements we signed with the largest Tier-1 suppliers.
Here is a sneak peek into a short pitch that was part of a proposal.
I live between Austin, TX, and the Bay Area, CA, and I always prefer in-person meetings. In these meetings, we can welcome you to one of our research and testing labs in either place and show you the system in action.
Finally, whether you are a potential customer, partner, investor, or want to chat, here is my Calendly:
https://calendly.com/mobadawy/30min