Led · Equity · Mar 2023

Aperia Technologies develops the Halo Tire Management suite, combining self-powered tire pressure automation hardware with a machine-learning analytics platform to deliver operational, safety, and sustainability improvements for commercial fleets. Its technology improves fuel economy for diesel vehicles, extends range for electric vehicles, and supports broad fleet applications across vehicle classes. Aperia reports nearly one million tires under management in North America and adoption by nearly 15 percent of leading heavy-duty fleets specifying its technology on new trucks. The company offers products including Halo Connect, Halo Trailer Connect, and Halo Tire Inflator to optimize fleet tire management practices and reduce downtime, maintenance costs, and tire expenditures. Aperia plans to use new capital to accelerate its product development roadmap, expand into new markets, and pilot new customer delivery models to scale globally. Aperia Technologies develops tire management hardware and analytics aimed at improving safety, efficiency, and environmental impact for commercial fleets. Its flagship Halo Tire Inflator and the recently introduced Halo Connect analytics platform use proprietary algorithms trained over more than half a decade and a billion miles to detect tire health issues early. The company says fleets using its products can substantially reduce unplanned tire-related downtime, tire expenditures, and CO2 emissions from under-inflation. Aperia has adopted partnerships with tire manufacturers and prominent U.S. commercial fleets to commercialize its solutions. The firm intends to scale Halo Connect, expand into new global markets, and support progression toward connected and autonomous vehicle applications. The announcement was released from Burlingame, Calif. Aperia Technologies develops the Halo Tire Inflator, a self-powered, bolt-on automatic tire inflation system that uses wheel rotation to generate pressure and maintain optimal tire inflation without a central air compressor. The company has seen record growth with Halo installed on more than 170 fleets and thousands of tractors and trailers. To meet demand it operates a dedicated U.S. manufacturing facility that expanded the production footprint five-fold and will boost capacity to 250,000 units for 2017. Aperia plans to use new funding to invest in sales and marketing infrastructure and to expand customer support operations across industry segments. The company positions itself to benefit from an EPA/NHTSA Phase 2 fuel-economy rule that designates automatic tire inflation systems as integral to improving fuel economy, which the company says should accelerate adoption. Aperia was founded out of Stanford University in 2010 and emphasizes making transportation more efficient, safer, and better for the environment.

Led · Equity · Dec 2019

Smart Wires develops grid-enhancing technologies (GETs), including the SmartValve advanced power flow control (APFC) device, which can be rapidly deployed, adjusted, or relocated to address capacity and load issues. Its solutions have helped utilities gain nearly 4 GW of firm capacity from existing networks and the company reports hundreds of power flow control devices deployed across four continents. Customers and recent deployments include Central Hudson Gas & Electric, National Grid Electricity Transmission, ISA TRANSELCA, and upcoming projects with Southern Company, Georgia Tech, Avista Utilities, Idaho Power, and ISA ENERGIA BRASIL. Headquartered in the Research Triangle of North Carolina, Smart Wires says its GETs enable faster integration of clean energy and new demand while improving reliability and lowering costs to consumers. The company positions its technology as weather- and circumstance-independent, offering utilities flexibility to address congestion at any time. Smart Wires will use new financing to scale commercial operations in 2025 and beyond and to drive further technological innovation. Smart Wires develops modular power flow control devices, marketed as SmartValve™, that enable utilities to increase grid efficiency and resilience. Its products unlock underutilized transmission capacity, reduce congestion and help deliver clean, renewable energy to end users. Led by CEO Gregg Rotenberg, the company sells solutions to electric utilities and grid operators. In December 2019 Smart Wires completed a $75M growth equity financing. The company intends to use the funds to deploy its SmartValve solutions globally in 2020. Smart Wire Grid develops self-powered transformers that wrap around power transmission lines to enable dynamic rerouting of electricity. The company’s hardware can be installed on existing lines to change power flows and has been deployed in utility settings. Atlanta-based utility Southern Company is a customer, and the Tennessee Valley Authority has established a demonstration project deploying 99 Smart Wire Grid units. According to a document filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the company has raised more than $13.3 million. Investors named in coverage include RiverVest Venture Partners. VentureBeat reported the company is based in Oakland, Calif., and did not return a request for comment.