Thanks to the explosion of the electric vehicle market, InductEV CEO Barry Libert believes his King of Prussia startup could be the region's next unicorn.
Revenue at the wireless EV charging company is growing rapidly, jumping from $2.5 million in 2022 to what Libert projects will be "way north" of $25 million this year. With new partnerships in the works, Libert is confident that revenue could exceed $100 million in 2024.
That growth is coming as more segments of the logistics industry shift their focus to electric vehicles as part of ongoing efforts to reduce their carbon footprints. Logistics vehicles in particular are ripe for an overhaul since they are constantly in motion and don't have time to simply sit and charge.
That's where InductEV comes in.
The company makes wireless chargers for electric vehicles that allows them to charge while still running. The technology is similar to that used to wirelessly charge a phone, but at more than 75,000 times the power. The technology is built and marketed toward commercial vehicles and fleets, and InductEV's customers include transit agencies and other commercial clients.
"The way I look at it, for Philadelphia, there's two or three unicorns but there's not a lot," said Libert, tallying the local startups with valuations of $1 billion or more. "I think this will be one of them."
InductEV's massive revenue growth of late comes on the heels of a year full of changes for the company founded in 2009 as Momentum Dynamics. This past year, the firm underwent an overhaul to its branding, leadership and physical space. Last July, Libert, a serial entrepreneur, was brought on by investors to amplify growth, something he seems to be making good on so far.
The company, which is backed by some $50 million in funding, including nearly $19 million raised this May, is now looking to capitalize on a supercharged industry and cornering what it sees as a massive opportunity with "behind the fence" logistics vehicles. Such vehicles include those used to transport cargo around ports, intramodal facilities and eventually to last-mile delivery facilities. With logistics companies looking to make these fleets electric, that means an increased need for on-the-go charging.
Using artificial intelligence, InductEV wants to identify behind-the-fence routes at such facilities where wireless charging pads could be placed to maximize charging time. This eliminates the need for wasted time and space, which can be tight in facilities packed with shipping containers and 18-wheelers, Libert said.
"We're going to literally dwarf our transit business as the e-commerce business continues to expand and electrify," said Libert. "We will continue to build out our transit market, but we're expanding our footprint exponentially in the goods and the logistics market."
He noted that with frequent short charges, particularly for first-mile vehicles that travel a finite distance, InductEV's solutions could help keep electric vehicles running continuously 24 hours per day.
"The e-commerce market is electrifying like everything else is and the difference between the municipal market and the electrification of the logistics market is that the logistics market is an oligopoly," Libert said.
Airlines are another opportunity for InductEV, and Libert said the company is in talks with carriers to provide charging for ground vehicles on airstrips. The goal is for InductEV chargers to be ubiquitous at cargo and transit facilities across the country.
In order to do research and development at the necessary scale, InductEV opened a 50,000-square-foot facility in King of Prussia that's thought to be the largest high-powered wireless research facility in North America. The company retrofitted a former biotech research facility at 660 Allendale Road, investing $1 million to make it conducive to software and hardware engineering, pre-production and testing.
The company is busy growing its headcount along with its footprint. It currently has just under 65 employees, but Libert said that number is increasing "every week." He hopes to add 10 to 15 more employees in the near future.
Other recent additions for InductEV include new President Chuck Russell, who was previously chief engineer of electric vehicles at General Motors. Dave Dealy was also added as chief commercial officer. Both have decades of experience in the industry which Libert thinks will push the company closer to that $1 billion valuation.
"I think for Pennsylvania, this is a really cool company," said Libert. "You have a combination of AI, software, EV. That is a unique combination of assets that are brewing right here in the backyard."
