# The SMART Tire Company, Inc.

Reimagining the Wheel™ for a $300B Global Tire Industry Using NASA Technology (Goodyear + Tesla)

- Canonical URL: https://wefunder.com/thesmarttire2025
- Entity ID: wefunder:company:169324
- Last updated: 2026-06-22T23:54:01Z
- Generated at: 2026-06-23T04:15:05Z

## Quick facts
- TIME Best Invention 2023
- Hyundai/Kia Motors Collaboration
- Global 500 Aerospace Clients
- $500B Addressable Market Opportunity
- 20,000+ Customer Waiting List
- Multiple Issued Tire Technology Patents
- EPA Grant for Sustainable Tire Solutions
- Space Act Agreement with NASA

## Active fundraises
- wefunder:fundraise:129245: 4(a)(6) open (USD)

## Story
The VisionTires 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 absorberMade with unsustainable materials like synthetic rubber and plasticsHigher rolling resistanceNot strong or durable enough for trucks, airplanes or spaceA poor choice for bicycles, scooters, motorcyclesUnder development since 2009, still no mainstream applicationsMichelin Uptis, an impractical flexible rubber tireOur BackersBuilding 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 AgreementHyundai/Kia: Contract for automotive proof-of-conceptEnvironmental Protection Agency: Non-dilutive grant fundingCommercial Aviation: private collaboration for landing gearCyclists: over 20,000 waiting list for METL bicycle tires3,000+ individual investors like YOUSMART Tire CEO, Earl Cole, with CEO of Kia Motors, Song Ho-SungHyundai + STC CollaborationHyundai 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 & RecognitionTechnology 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.comSMART 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 UKOver 30M+ video views on YouTube and TikTokPatents & Intellectual PropertyReinforcement 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)MarketsThe global tire industry is a $300B opportunity with a CAGR of approximately 5%. Important segments include:Automotive ($150B+)Patent granted, work with Hyundai/KiaTrucking ($100B+)Patent granted, feedback from SMEs at Amazon logisticsMobility ($20B+)Patents granted, 20k waiting list for bicycle tires, scooter tires under development, exclusive NASA licenseCommercial Aviation ($10B+)Cost savings analysis complete, collaboration with landing gear partnerSpace (<$1B, Research & Development opportunity)Patent granted, 3x customers with lunar rover projectsAgriculture, Construction, Mining, Military, Off-road ($25B+)Future potential marketsCurrent ProductsMETL Bicycle TireOur 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.METL tire featured in TIME MagazineSMART Scooter TireRide-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 TiresSTC 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.Bubba Wallace takes a ride on the Leidos/NASCAR rover featuring SMART tiresSTC's airless (bullet-proof) tire also considered for military usageSustainabilitySMART tires could clean up one of the world's dirtiest industries by using less rubber, saving on fuel, and preventing tire waste.The EvidenceSTC awarded an EPA grant to investigate reuse of shape memory alloysRunner up (mobility category), Green Awards 2023Info about MicroplasticsDetailsDid 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.Environmental Impact of Tires (courtesy: Environmental Protection Agency)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 desirableLonger life = less wasteNever under-inflated = better fuel economy, less tire wear

## Team
- Earl Cole (CEO)

## Recent posts
- SMART Tire first collaborated with NASA on a Space Act Agreement to commercialize SMA tire technology -- a high-demand solution for the global tire industry. (2026-02-11T18:52:19Z)
- SMART tires on the Leidos lunar rover. Pictured: NASCAR driver, Bubba Wallace (R) (2026-01-21T06:47:42Z)