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If you invest, you're betting The SMART Tire Company will be worth more than $54.455M in the future.
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.
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!
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).
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.
SMART Tires solve four major problems faced by every vehicle on the road, by inventing the first ever lightweight, high-performance, sustainable airless tire.
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.
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?
Key SMART Tire competitors include the big 4:
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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!
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:
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:
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.
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 [email protected].
To join the waiting list for SMART bicycle tires, please visit our cycling page at https://smarttire.com/cycling
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