wefunder.com
Open in
urlscan Pro
172.67.15.182
Public Scan
Submitted URL: http://www.stc.holdings/
Effective URL: https://wefunder.com/the.smart.tire.company
Submission: On June 09 via api from US — Scanned from DE
Effective URL: https://wefunder.com/the.smart.tire.company
Submission: On June 09 via api from US — Scanned from DE
Form analysis 1 forms found in the DOM
<form class="flex flex-col gap-3 wf-animate-slideup"><button type="button" class="fa fa-chevron-left text-4xl absolute -top-[58px] z-[10] hidden" aria-hidden="true"></button><label for="email" class="sr-only">E-Mail</label>
<div class="makena wf-input-container"><input type="email" id="email" autocomplete="email" aria-required="true" aria-invalid="false" title="E-Mail" name="email" class="wf-labelled-input" placeholder=" " aria-labelledby="email" value=""><label
for="email" class="wf-input-label">E-Mail</label></div><label for="full_name" class="sr-only">E-Mail</label>
<div class="makena wf-input-container"><input type="text" id="full_name" autocomplete="name" aria-required="true" aria-invalid="false" title="Vollständiger Name" name="full_name" class="wf-labelled-input" placeholder=" " aria-labelledby="full_name"
value=""><label for="full_name" class="wf-input-label">Vollständiger Name</label></div><label for="new-password" class="sr-only">Passwort</label><span id="password-constraints" class="sr-only">6 or more characters!</span>
<div class="makena wf-input-container"><input type="password" id="new-password" autocomplete="new-password" aria-required="true" aria-invalid="false" class="wf-labelled-input sentry-ignore fullstory-exclude" aria-describedby="password-constraints"
title="Passwort" placeholder="Passwort" name="password" aria-labelledby="new-password" value=""><label for="new-password" class="wf-input-label">Passwort</label></div><button type="submit"
class="bg-blue-600 text-white w-full py-3 px-4 hover:opacity-60 text-sm font-semibold md:font-bold rounded transition duration-300 cursor-pointer">Anmelden</button>
</form>Text Content
saving classname here bc not compiling for capitalize
* Entdecken
*
* Erstellen Raise Money
* Learn
*
Anmelden Registrieren
* Login
* Signup
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Explore startups
* Raise Money
* Learn
* Investoren-FAQ
* Investor School
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Gründer-FAQ
* Fundraising Playbook
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Blog
* Earn up to $10,000
THE SMART TIRE COMPANY
NEVER FLAT, SUSTAINABLE TIRES DEVELOPED @ NASA DISRUPTING $300B GLOBAL TIRE
INDUSTRY
Teilen
TEILE ES MIT DEINEM NETZWERK
Hilf The SMART Tire Company dabei, diese Finanzierungsrunde erfolgreich
abzuschließen
Letzte Finanzierung April 2024
2.462.722 $
raised from 3.444 investors
Beachte Updates
smarttire.com
Akron, OH
Technology B2B Hardware B2C Minority Founder
Übersicht Details
Updates
45
Was die Community sagt
1.089
Stell eine Frage.
367
HÖHEPUNKTE
1
SMART Tire selected as TIME's Best Inventions of 2023
2
Hyundai Motors and Kia Official Collaboration
3
Current Space Industry Revenue from Multiple Global 500 Aerospace Customers
4
$300B Market Opportunity in Terrestrial Tires, Key Supplier to Future $1T
Private Space Industry
5
15,000+ Customer Waiting List for our Groundbreaking METL™ Bicycle Wheelsets
6
Exclusive NASA license & 5x new Patent Pending Tire Inventions to Corner the
Future Market
7
12+ years and $10M+ in Government Funding and Research Invested into this
Technology
8
Partnerships: NASA, EPA, Hyundai, Felt Bicycles, The Ohio State University,
University of Akron
Show more
FEATURED INVESTOR
Thomas Wuttke
Invested 101.000 $
Investierte 1.000 $ in dieser Runde & 100.000 $ zuvor
Syndicate Lead
Follow
Invested 101.000 $
Investierte 1.000 $ in dieser Runde & 100.000 $ zuvor
Tom is a Cruise self-driving car UI engineer, previously at Twitter, Google,
Sony, tech lead for the original You Don't Know Jack franchise
Syndicate Lead
Tom is a Cruise self-driving car UI engineer, previously at Twitter, Google,
Sony, tech lead for the original You Don't Know Jack franchise
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“I’m investing with The SMART Tire Company because I see great value in both my
experience with autonomous vehicles as well as one of my personal passions:
cycling. In order to reach the sustainable, fuel efficient, safe and high
performance future of transportation, we NEED better tires, and I know of no
other company building the technology needed, including the major tire
manufacturers. I will be among the first testers of the METL bike tires and
can’t wait to say “goodbye” to flats forever.”
UNSER TEAM
Earl Cole
CEO
Techstars mentor, Stanford & University of Washington business program mentor,
worked with mega brands @Disney, @Honda, @Google. Proud father (x2), serial
entrepreneur and unanimous Survivor champion.
Pneumatic (air-filled) tires haven't changed much in 100 years. However, NASA
has been working for decades developing new tire technologies for outer space.
Our mission is to bring this space age innovation back down to earth, as we
usher in a new era of electric and autonomous vehicles. Safer, cleaner
transportation can impact all of our lives.
Brian Yennie
CTO
3x cross-industry technical founder. Previously @IDEX, @Showroom, @Newzcard.
Creator of first eco-friendly virtual world for kids. National Merit Scholar.
Owner / admin @CelticsStrong.
Jim BenzingPrincipal Engineer
R&D 100 Award Winner, original inventor of the lunar spring tire, NASA
consultant, 20+ tire patents. 43 years at Goodyear include developing production
manufacturing equipment and overseeing factory rollouts on 4 continents.
Charles WeinbergSenior Engineer, Shape Memory Alloys
PhD in Mechanical Engineering from University of Minnesota. Studied structural
design with shape memory alloys and co-authored papers on new nitinol
applications & forms.
William Farah , EsqGeneral Counsel, Venture Capital Advisor
Entrepreneur & lawyer. Consultant for SOS Ventures. Director @ First Step
Foundation and former ATP tour tennis pro.
Karen Jones, MBAAdvisor, Federal Aviation Administration
Executive MBA with 20+ years experience working for the government in supply
chain logistics and employee relations. Enterprise operations for the FAA in
dealing with businesses, government and labor regulations within the aviation
industry.
Angela HelinAdvisor & Investor
Principal Load Engineer, SpaceX
Brennan SwainPatent / IP Counsel
Show More
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE SMART TIRE COMPANY
Introducing the world's first high performance, airless, and sustainable tires
made from shape memory alloys, a space-age metal material that has its own
memory. This will change everything you ever thought you knew about tires.
* GET IN NOW: Raised over $1M in just 3 days into our first fundraising
campaign, pre-SALES target met in just 15 minutes
* Originally invented for NASA's Mars Rover Program
* Superelastic and flexible like rubber
* Lightweight and strong like titanium (even bulletproof)
* Able to bend and stretch down to the rim, roll over nails and potholes, and
instantly snap back to its original shape, unaffected
* Air-free, flat-free, integrated with rubber (50% less than standard tires),
the ultimate, eco-friendly tire for cycling, automotive, trucking, aerospace
and more
* The multiple award-winning, SMART airless tire
First developed at NASA, now brought down to Earth by The SMART Tire Company,
these SMART (Shape Memory Alloy Radial Technology) tires require no air
pressure, ride smooth just like pneumatic tires, feature low rolling resistance,
are more fuel efficient, affordable, and can last the life of your vehicle.
Plus, they look pretty cool, too!
NASA: SPACE TIRE COMPANY
In the 1960's, NASA began its own tire development for space exploration. You
might recognize their first attempt, riding around on the moon:
The requirements were extreme. After all, the moon is a pretty harsh
environment. But what has happened to that technology since? We've sent rovers
to Mars, probes to deep space, but no more manned missions. Until now. With the
US and other countries planning manned missions back to the Moon, and someday to
Mars, we're going to need truly incredible tires to get the job done.
Not to worry. For the past 12 years+, with over $10M in research committed, NASA
has continued developing the ultimate tire made from a shape memory alloy
material called NiTinol (Nickel Titanium).
DOWN TO EARTH: THE SMART TIRE COMPANY
The SMART Tire Company was formed for the express purpose of commercializing a
new category of airless tire invented for the future of space exploration.
Starting with the extreme capabilities of this Mars-grade technology, we've
developed new, patented tires designs for cycling, automotive, trucking and
aerospace applications. We've also created the ultimate lunar tire, capable of
carrying multiple astronauts plus cargo across the south pole of the moon as
part of NASA's Artemis program (Lunar Terrain Vehicles) and CLPS program
(smaller rovers).
The SMART Tire Company is disrupting an old but evergreen industry (tires) with
new technology at the intersection of two rapidly emerging trillion dollar
industries: electric vehicles (including autonomous) and space exploration.
Reinventing the tire™ for the new era of transportation.
DISRUPTING THE $300B GLOBAL TIRE INDUSTRY WITH SPACE TECH
SMART Tires solve four major problems faced by every vehicle on the road, by
inventing the first ever lightweight, high-performance, sustainable airless
tire.
1. Maintenance & Safety: 200M+ flat tires every year in the US alone
2. Fuel Economy: fuel consumption starts at the tires (rolling resistance)
3. Pollution: the tire industry produces over 50B lbs of waste and 20% of ocean
plastics
4. Electric Vehicles: EVs are heavy and increasingly rough on regular tires
HOW BIG IS THE OPPORTUNITY? REALLY BIG!!
Do you remember when Michelin and Goodyear were just startups? Probably not
(hint: it was the 1ate 1800s). The tire industry is now a $300B global market,
projected to grow to $500B over the next decade. It touches the daily lives of
billions of people every day from cars and trucks, to bikes, scooters, buses,
planes, agriculture, construction and more.
Space exploration is also here to stay ($1T industry by 2030). Whether it's
NASA, SpaceX, ESA or Blue Origin, the future of space includes land vehicles and
rovers carrying heavier loads. SMART Tire is one of the only companies in the
world developing space tires capable of these kinds of missions.
Photo: Lunar rover concept vehicle made by Leidos in partnership with NASCAR
(racecar driver Bubba Wallace pictured). Tires were designed, developed & built
by The SMART Tire Company in Akron, OH, USA.
WHY NOW?
Now is the perfect time for innovation in the 100+ old tire industry. Material
breakthroughs, sustainability initiatives and outdated thinking by competitors
have created a unique opportunity to change transportation as a whole.
Timing is everything and shape memory alloys represent a new material
revolution. No more flats, more fuel efficient, sustainable, and designed for
the future of electric vehicles, autonomous vehicles, space applications AND a
real game-changer within the cycling industry (to kick things off - $10B bike
tire market). From millions of casual riders and weekend warriors, to Olympic
USA Cycling, Tour De France and ridesharing. What's not to love?
COMPETITION
Key SMART Tire competitors include the big 4:
1. 🇯🇵 Bridgestone
2. 🇫🇷 Michelin
3. 🇩🇪 Continental
4. 🇺🇸 Goodyear
The global tire industry is highly fragmented, with the top 4 manufacturers each
holding less than 10% market share. Big tire companies are in no hurry to change
the old system and business model they put into place (in the early 20th
century) and continue to profit from, today. They've invested billions of
dollars in capital assets that revolve around pneumatic (air-filled) designs,
with no end in sight. 70% of their business is in replacement tires, so they
literally benefit off of your flats and inconvenience.
None of these companies have good airless solutions: No amount of rubber and
plastic components can produce a competitive airless tire, as evidenced by 18+
years of failed attempts at this approach. SMART Tire replaces conventional
materials with the power of shape memory alloys, an entirely new approach to
high performance tires.
TECHNOLOGY
Born from the mission requirements at NASA, these tires were originally invented
to withstand continuous use on Mars. That means operating at extreme
temperatures from down to -230C, never, ever going flat, remaining lightweight,
and staying energy efficient.
The "superelastic" tire was invented when two different disciplines worked
together. Having built previous extraterrestrial tires out of steel and
aluminum, NASA had a problem: the tires were taking too much permanent damage
from the terrain. Enter cutting edge material science: a special metal alloy
(Nickel Titanium or NiTinol) that can recover completely from the same types of
deformation that were damaging the steel.
Shape memory alloys are capable of undergoing phase transitions at the molecular
level with reversible strains an order of magnitude more than ordinary
materials, before undergoing permanent deformation. The use of a NiTi shape
memory alloy produces a superelastic tire that is elastic like rubber, yet
strong like titanium.
NiTinol can be formulated into multiple colors which add to our "cool look" and
aesthetic options that are possible when developing SMART tire products.
Watch this Veritasium feature on our SMA tire technology (12M+ views), where we
ride over a bed of nails and demonstrate the incredible properties of shape
memory alloys in our SMART Innovation Lab (Akron, OH), just down the road from
NASA Glenn Research Center.
Building on these superelastic properties, the chief engineer of The SMART Tire
Company is also the original inventor of the lunar spring tire, which was
awarded an R&D 100 award ("the Oscars of innovation"). NASA Glenn Research
Center, now collaborating with STC under a Space Act Agreement, originally
developed the superelastic aspects.
The original Lunar Roving Vehicle contract was awarded in 1969 to Boeing, and
the budget was over $302M (in 2022 USD). This kind of high tech, high budget,
low volume work is a perfect revenue source for SMART Tire. The Artemis program
has humans returning to the Moon as its primary objective (which will include
the first woman and first POC astronauts to finally step foot there), and a
budget of $35B.
Pictured below: a SMART lunar tire built to take advantage of superelastic
materials, uses a patented structural design to be the first ever "space tire"
suited for heavy vehicles on the Moon and Mars.
FUTURE OF TRANSPORTATION
Tires aren't a sexy product, but the money and impact definitely are! Air-filled
tires (pneumatic) are practically on every vehicle that moves on Earth. From
bicycles, scooters, motorcycles and cars, to trucks, buses, airplanes and even
wheelchairs. Yet, this old technology of a rubber tube structure filled with
air, hasn't changed much in the past century. Today's tires are still prone to
flats, deflation and catastrophic blowouts. Building a tire with a new kind of
material, changes everything.
We are taking the magic of shape memory alloys, integrating them with rubber
treads, and delivering a product which is literally the best of both worlds,
from Mars to Earth. This will affect the way we think about, buy, and use tires
around the globe, to change the future of transportation for the better. Safer &
smarter tires, for smarter vehicles AND smarter customers!
APPLICATIONS
The applications for a high performance airless tire are nearly endless, making
up a significant portion of the tire industry, which stands to grow to $500
billion by 2030.
* Cycling: flats and tire inflation are an everyday pain
* Mobility Fleets: constant tire maintenance causes expensive downtime
* Electric Vehicles: are heavier and harder on ordinary tires
* Autonomous: specific safety & maintenance concerns with flats
* Military: tires need to go off-road, get soldiers home safe, and survive
* Airlines: a commercial jet using our tire tech can save 27,000 lbs of jet
fuel every year
* Space: future missions to the Moon and Mars need stronger, more reliable
tires that can roll over the harshest of terrains
* Trucking: where an 18 wheeler becomes a 10 wheeler, saves on fuel costs and
never gets a dangerous blowout or multiple flats
* Motorsports: consistently perform and race at the highest speeds, distances
and temperatures, without punctures or tire failures
SUSTAINABILITY
Tires are an inherently unsustainable and polluting product. 50 billion pounds
of waste tires are produced every year, tire wear is a primary contributor to
ocean plastics and landfills, and the manufacturing process is also dirty.
Conversion to non-pneumatic (airless) solutions can greatly reduce the waste.
In recognition of SMART Tire's efforts in sustainability, we were recently
awarded a Phase I SBIR grant by the US Environmental Protection Agency to
investigate methods of recycling and reusing nitinol tires.
TEAM
The SMART Tire Company has a multidisciplinary team that combines deep tire
industry experience with material science, mechanical engineering, space
exploration, early stage startups, intellectual property law, manufacturing and
product marketing.
Experience isn't enough, though. We're also passionate about affecting change
and giving back. Our founder & CEO, Earl Cole, created the Perthes Kids
Foundation, a global nonprofit charity to benefit children with a rare disease.
CTO Brian Yennie's first business was an eco-friendly virtual world, that
donated a portion of all proceeds to wildlife charities, a full decade before
the Metaverse became a trend.
Revolutionizing the tire industry is not just a potential unicorn company in the
making, it means cleaner and safer transportation for everyone, worldwide, and
we're the right team to do it!
THE ROAD TO $1B (BUSINESS MODEL & STRATEGY)
In July of 2003, Tesla was founded to disrupt one of the most successful
inventions of all time: the combustion engine. 20 years later, EVs are the
future of transportation, and Tesla is one of the most valuable companies on
Earth.
How do we do the same, this time for the pneumatic rubber tire?
Step 1: Two Wheel Vehicles
With a waiting list of over 15,000 cyclists, LOIs and early partnerships from
rideshare companies, two wheel mobility is our strategic play for the first
$100M in STC revenue. Extraterrestrial work keeps interest high and our R&D
department cutting edge, while we take on tire industry incumbents here on
earth.
A combination of scooter fleets (several millions units in service worldwide),
personal scooters, bicycle tires and motorcycles presents an opportunity to
scale to over $100M in revenue through higher margin, two wheel markets alone.
Step 2: Building for a $100B+ Serviceable Market
Our wheels are already turning towards the largest tire markets: automotive and
trucking. Starting with a proof of concept project with Hyundai Motors, STC has
developed proprietary designs that support 10,000+ lb loads for everything from
passenger vehicles to heavy trucks.
The STC business model is to cooperatively develop with automotive OEMs,
aerospace partners, and future customers such as Amazon logistics in order to
address their needs. Future “niche” markets are also quite large, including
aerospace, agriculture and construction which are each multi-billion dollar
opportunities.
Step 3: Licensing vs Manufacturing
STC currently manufactures bicycle and scooter tires in-house by proprietary
methods, which are being translated from lab scale to larger manufacturing
partners at scale.
Certain high-margin consumer markets (example: road bikes, eBikes) are perfect
opportunities for custom manufacturing, where STC captures the majority of the
profits directly.
Because there are so many potential markets for tires, STC plans to license our
patents in areas where manufacturing is capital intensive, or margins may be
lower. Our IP portfolio includes:
* Exclusive licensing of core NASA patents (SMA spring tire, tubular tires)
* Space, automotive and bike tire utility patents (issued and pending)
* Design patents (our signature “see through” look)
* Numerous trade secrets for manufacturing with shape memory alloys
* Trademarks and domains (Reinventing the Wheel®, SmartTire.com)
Be sure to check out our global media coverage in TechCrunch, Fast Company,
TIME, Pink Bike, Mashable, Popular Science and TV networks CBS, ABC, FOX, TF1
(France), Antena 3 (Spain) and many others, to get a glimpse of the demand for
our first phase of SMART tire products.
Featured in/on:
10 KEY ACCOMPLISHMENTS
1. Space Act Agreement with NASA Glenn Research Center to continue optimizing
shape memory alloy tire designs
2. Reduced the material cost of our bicycle tires by 90% since 2021, as part
of our go-to-market strategy, manufacturing and supply chain partnerships
3. Awarded $100,000 grant from the Environmental Protection Agency to further
research the recyclability of shape memory alloys (NiTinol)
4. Signed contract w/ Fortune 100 aerospace company for lunar tire development
which generates revenue for our company
5. Won the Accelerate the Future Challenge sponsored by Hyundai/Kia Motors to
develop a car tire concept using our technology
6. Recently granted tire patent for our aerospace work; Patent pending methods
for wheel and rubber tread integrations with shape memory alloys
7. University collaboration to develop special alloy joining methods
8. Opened The SMART Innovation Lab, a state-of-the-art 5000 sq ft research &
development facility in Akron, Ohio
9. Exhibited at major conferences around the world from San Francisco
(TechCrunch), London (MOVE) and Paris (Viva Technology) to Monterey Bay
(Sea Otter Classic), Abu Dhabi (MOVE) and England (Goodwood Festival of
Speed) with overwhelming excitement from attendees
10. Selected as one of TIME's 200 Best Inventions of 2023 (worldwide), 2X CES
Innovation Award Honoree, R&D 100 Winner, Hyundai Accelerate the Future
Challenge Winner & GreenTech Award Finalist
PARTNERS
A few of the great companies and organizations working with The SMART Tire
Company are listed below. Early partners include large aerospace companies,
micro-mobility providers, bike manufacturers, and world-class research
institutions. We are currently developing relationships with additional
automakers and private space companies.
ONE LAST WORD
INVEST NOW: We welcome you to join us on this special journey. Made In the USA,
better for the environment, NASA-invented technology, backed by YOU, our
visionary, amazing supporters. Help us achieve our goal of Reimagining the
wheel™ and building the next great, American tire company... The SMART Tire
Company!
To learn even more, visit https://smarttire.com, or drop us a message at
hello@smarttire.com.
To join the waiting list for SMART bicycle tires, please visit our cycling page
at https://smarttire.com/cycling
"Don't miss out!" 🚀
Übersicht
Übersicht
Details
Updates
Was die Community sagt
Stell eine Frage.
Willkommen bei
Wefunder
Benachrichtigung erhalten, wenn ein neues YC-Unternehmen auf Wefunder startet
Sign up or Login to Follow Investors
Get notified when a new EU company launches on Wefunder
Sign up or Login to Save Search
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
IN GRÜNDER:INNEN INVESTIEREN, AN DIE DU GLAUBST
JOIN OVER 1 MILLION INVESTORS WHO ARE FUNDING THE FUTURE
Weiter mit GoogleWeiter mit FacebookWeiter mit Apple
oder
E-Mail
E-Mail
E-Mail
Vollständiger Name
Passwort6 or more characters!
Passwort
Anmelden
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wefunder ist eine sogenannte Public Benefit Corporation.
Wir wollen den Kapitalismus verändern.
2012–2024 IMPACT REPORT
* Unsere Story
* Jobs
* Blog
* VIP Members
* Get/Give $
* Fundraising Playbook
* Investoren-FAQ
* Gründer-FAQ
* Leitfäden
* Support
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wefunder bezieht sich auf die Wefunder Inc. und ihre hundertprozentigen
Tochtergesellschaften: Wefunder Advisors LLC, Capitalize Advisors LLC, Wefunder
Portal LLC und Wefunder EU B.V.. Diese Seite wird von Wefunder Portal LLC
gehostet.
Wefunder Portal LLC ist ein Mitglied der Financial InDustry Regulatory Authority
(FINRA). Wefunder EU B.V. ist bei der niederländischen Behörde für Finanzmärkte
registriert. Auf Wefunder zu investieren, ist riskant. Investiere nicht mehr,
als Du Dir erlauben kannst, zu verlieren.
WICHTIGE INFORMATIONEN
Begriffe Datenschutz
Deutsch English español français italiano Nederlands português