Atom Power Inc. raised almost $111.2 million in what it says will be its last round of private-equity funding. That's as the local startup moves full bore into production of electric vehicle-charging systems as its principal commercial product.
The growth investment round was led by $100 million from SK Inc. and its subsidiary, SK Energy. SK is a holding and IT services company headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. The company is divided into an investment division and a business division.
In addition to the growth investment, SK acquired a $50 million stake in Atom Power equity through purchases from existing investors in the Huntersville company. That makes SK the largest outside investor in Atom Power.
Atom Power CEO Ryan Kennedy says the focus on EV charging is part of the company's mission to promote intelligent electrification across several industries using its exclusive digital circuit breaker technology.
“The EV market is massive, rapidly growing and desperate for a new way to scale, drive revenue and accelerate adoption,” he says. “Our technology is the perfect solution for this perfect storm.”
SK investment based on Atom Power's 'core technology' digital circuit breaker
Kennedy says SK’s involvement “provides the capital and strategic alignment to support us in driving the new standard for digital power delivery across every industry.”
Atom Power was founded in 2014 on the technology Kennedy developed at UNC Charlotte. The digital circuit breaker is thousands of times faster and more flexible than mechanical circuit breakers, and eliminates the danger of potentially fatal electric arc flashes. Atom Power has adapted the technology to several uses. But its focus in the last couple of years has been putting the technology to work on flexible, easily scalable electric vehicle charging, particularly on transportation fleets and large residential projects.
“We value the core technology …, which is the primary driver in deciding to invest in Atom Power,” says Moo-hwan Kim, head of SK’s Green Investment Center. “As the major shareholder of Atom Power, we will move forward with Atom Power to expand the business to the entire U.S. and ultimately globally, establishing a competitive energy solution platform.”
The sale opened Aug. 4. The company filed notice yesterday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it was complete. The sale was organized by Minnesota-based Piper Sandler & Co., which received $3 million in sales commissions, according to the filing.
It says that $55,000 of the proceeds were used to repay a bridge note to Billy Graves, CEO of Charlotte-based electrical contractor W.B. Moore Co. Graves left the Atom Power board following the sale.
Atom Power to 'dramatically' shift to marketing and manufacturing
Kennedy disclosed plans for the funding round in July. He said it would be the last round of funding for the company unless it decided to eventually go public, which he said was possible but not certain.
He told the Charlotte Business Journal then that this round will allow the company to move from technology based — almost three quarters of its 57 employees are engineers — to a broader focus on marketing and manufacturing the EV-charging systems.
“We’ll be shifting dramatically into a markets-driven company,” he said. “In other words, adding capacity — some in engineering, but largely in the business development and market presence.”
In earlier rounds, Atom Power had raised $30 million in equity investment. Kennedy would not disclose the amount of this round in July, but he said it would be significantly more than it had raised in its previous rounds.
Dong-soo Kang, head of platform and marketing for SK Energy, echoes Kennedy’s expectations for expansion.
"We believe that with SK Energy’s accumulated know-hows as the Korean petroleum market leader and Atom Power’s technological competitiveness, both companies will be able to seek mutual growth,” he says. “For Atom Power, (that means) to expand its business beyond the U.S. Market and for SK Energy, to expedite its transition to a green energy solution and mobility platform service provider.”
Atom Power recently completed its move into a 21,500-square-foot headquarters and manufacturing facility in Huntersville. It has additional space for expanding manufacturing.
