The Vision

Tires are a $300B global industry locked in to 100 year-old technologies. At SMART Tire, we believe airless tires made from space-age materials are the next big shift since electric vehicles began replacing gas-powered engines. Did you know the first electric vehicles date back to the 1800s, and the first tires were also airless? With modern materials, both are now finally possible.

What is a SMART tire?

SMART: (Shape Memory Alloy Radial Technology) is a new category of tire made possible by a recently discovered class of materials called shape memory alloys ("SMA"). They require no pressurized air ("airless") but are completely unlike any other tire on the market today.

The unique properties of SMAs, a nickel titanium alloy, combined with our patented designs make them not just flat-free and low maintenance, but lightweight, high performance and sustainable.

• Lightweight (in many cases, even lighter than air-filled tires)
• Sustainable (< 50% rubber used, long-lasting, fuel efficient, recyclable)
• Low rolling resistance (SMA is extremely energy efficient)
• Safety (no blowouts, never under-inflated)

Them: The leading competitor in airless tires (Michelin Tweel/Uptis), by comparison is:

• Heavy, noisy and a poor shock absorber
• Made with unsustainable materials like synthetic rubber and plastics
• Higher rolling resistance
• Not strong or durable enough for trucks, airplanes or space
• A poor choice for bicycles, scooters, motorcycles
• Under development since 2009, still no mainstream applications

Our Backers

Building a tire startup to compete with international corporations like Goodyear, Michelin and Bridgestone, is almost unheard of. Using shape memory alloys and making the tires airless? Uncharted territory. So who's with us in disrupting a 100+ year old, $300B industry, for the greater good?

• NASA: Space Act Agreement
• Hyundai/Kia: Contract for automotive proof-of-concept
• Environmental Protection Agency: Non-dilutive grant funding
• Commercial Aviation: private collaboration for landing gear
• Cyclists: over 20,000 waiting list for METL bicycle tires
• 3,000+ individual investors like YOU

Hyundai + STC Collaboration

Hyundai is the world's third-largest carmaker by production, behind Toyota and Volkswagen. Hyundai's brand valuation was $23 billion in 2024, which was a 63% increase over five years. As winners of the Hyundai Accelerate the Future Challenge, STC was invited to Hyundai Motor Group HQ in Seoul, South Korea in October of 2024, to present our new, airless car tire concept, with rave reviews. This included key meetings with the CEO of Hyundai Motor Group, the CEO of Kia Motors, the CTO of Hyundai Innovation, and the Head of their Aerospace & Robotics division.

Awards & Recognition

Technology is great, but is there interest & demand for your product? All STC coverage to-date is organic interest, and not the result of paid marketing.

Highlights include:

• Prime-time TV coverage on ABC, CBS News, News Nation, The Weather Channel, TF1 (France's #1 network), El Hormiguero (top Spanish talk show)
• TIME Best Inventions 2023, 2x CES Innovation Awards
• Featured on TechCrunch, FastCompany, NY Times, LA Times, Popular Science, Car & Driver, Engadget, Mashable, Bicycling.com
• SMART Tires on loan to The Petersen Museum (LA), The Franklin Institute (Philadelphia), National Museum of Australia
• Exhibition by invitation only @ The Goodwood Festival of Speed (Future Lab) in the UK
• Over 30M+ video views on YouTube and TikTok

Patents & Intellectual Property

• Reinforcement of polymers with shape memory alloy elements (US20230081635A1, WO2023043992A1)
• Tire assembly with circumferential shape memory alloy configuration (US20240116313A1 , WO2024137800A1)
• Spring tire wheel assembly with bump stop (US20240066924A1, US11807053B2, WO2023147159A1)
• Wheel and Tire (EU 015003424-0001, 015003424-0002, 015003424-0003, UK 6243822, 6243823, 6243824, China 202230768761.7)
• Exclusive and commercial licenses with NASA for foundational tech (SMA tubular structures, Superelastic Tire)
• Premium domain name (smarttire.com)
• Registered Trademarks for Reinventing the Wheel™, Reimagining the Wheel™
• Trade secrets (manufacturing of SMA tires)

Markets

The global tire industry is a $300B opportunity with a CAGR of approximately 5%. Important segments include:

Automotive ($150B+)

• Patent granted, work with Hyundai/Kia

Trucking ($100B+)

• Patent granted, feedback from SMEs at Amazon logistics

Mobility ($20B+)

• Patents granted, 20k waiting list for bicycle tires, scooter tires under development, exclusive NASA license

Commercial Aviation ($10B+)

• Cost savings analysis complete, collaboration with landing gear partner

Space (<$1B, Research & Development opportunity)

• Patent granted, 3x customers with lunar rover projects

Agriculture, Construction, Mining, Military, Off-road ($25B+)

• Future potential markets

Current Products

METL Bicycle Tire

Our best-known and award-winning product was selected for TIME Best Inventions 2023 and currently has a waiting list of 20,000+ cyclists representing over $30M in potential launch sales. It is expected to launch in 2025. All signups to-date are organic through our website and not through paid advertising.

SMART Scooter Tire

Ride-share scooter fleets use millions of tires per year, with maintenance costs being their #1 pain point. STC has developed an alternative to both the solid and pneumatic tires used by various ride-share fleets globally, which will also be available for personal vehicles in 2025/26.

Lunar & Special Vehicle Tires

STC is a space tire provider to several companies planning trips to The Moon in the next 2-5 years. Our tires were publicly featured on a Leidos/NASCAR collaboration last year.

Sustainability

SMART tires could clean up one of the world's dirtiest industries by using less rubber, saving on fuel, and preventing tire waste.

The Evidence

1. STC awarded an EPA grant to investigate reuse of shape memory alloys
2. Runner up (mobility category), Green Awards 2023
3. Info about Microplastics

Details

Did you know? Tires are one of the least sustainable, most polluting aspects of transportation. According to the EPA:

"Billions of tires are produced each year and hundreds of millions of tires become waste”, and “are a complex source of pollutants including whole tires, particles, compounds, and chemicals"

Over the next 10-20 years the tire industry is projected to produce over a trillion pounds of waste.

SMART Tire is the only company addressing tire sustainability at its core. Other manufacturers have no way out: their entire business model revolves around disposable rubber, and all of the nasty chemicals, synthetics, petroleum products, plastics and additives involved. How do we do it?

• Minimum of 50% less rubber (can be closer to 90% depending on the tire)
• Metal alloys = infinitely recyclable via melting, and our ingredients (nickel and titanium) are economically desirable
• Longer life = less waste
• Never under-inflated = better fuel economy, less tire wear