Startup Valo has achieved its first funding goal to expand production of its electric hydrofoil jet ski, the Valo Hyperfoil, which raised more than $2 million.
The funding will also capitalize on the company's hydrofoil technology platform. Founded in 2022 as a spin-off from Boundary Layer Technologies (BLT), a startup before founder Ed Kearney, the Alameda-based company aims to kickstart the next transportation revolution with ships that "fly over the water." BLT had launched a prototype hydrofoil cargo ship, but it was never marketed.
To date, Kearney has raised $7.1 million for both companies, and its Hyperfoil has also won a Good Design Award and a $124 million letter of intent from ferry companies and manufacturers to deliver industrial-scale hydrofoil systems.
Valo hopes to appeal to the 1% of people as a fun tech toy, which will allow them to expand into larger businesses, including replacing air cargo and passenger ferries. They believe it will be a big win for the environment, with ocean vessels emitting around 50 million tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere in 2022, a fraction of the 370 million tonnes emitted by cars, but still a significant amount of carbon emissions.
"Today's water transport relies on designs that haven't evolved much since the 50s of the 20th century," explains Kearney. "Conventional vessels experience significant water resistance, resulting in increased operating costs and reduced maneuverability.
"Valo is here to change the status quo. Our goal is not only to build amazing hydrofoils that our customers love, but also to create a hydrofoil technology platform that will power the yachting industry of the future. ”
He added: "When designing Valo Hyperfoil, we wanted to create something that our customers would absolutely love, something that is also visually appealing, and this funding marks a 'significant step' in bringing the new hyperfoils to market."
"We'd love to see people commute to it." He plans to provide a test line between Oakland and San Francisco Bay. "Water is a huge untapped resource." (This can be legally problematic, though.) With a few exceptions, jet skis are not permitted in San Francisco Bay at this time. The San Francisco Police Department's maritime division did not respond to a request for comment. )
To date, Kearney has received the first batch of about 60 pre-orders for hyperfoils, which are scheduled to ship by the end of 2024 and totaling "products worth about $3.5 million". But Kearney stresses that hyperfoils aren't just an option for the super-rich: "We're creating a transportation revolution. ”
Hydrofoils date back 150 years, when a France (above) first inserted a wide, flat-ended metal plough (now called a hydrofoil) under his rowing boat. Over the years, the technology involved in hydrofoil design has changed over the years and has been reinvigorated by the revival of hydrofoils in sailing. In 2013, Larry · Ellison included hydrofoils in the America's Cup. Soon, Mark · Zuckerberg's hydrofoil surfboard (pictured below) was in the news, and Gulf technologists threw themselves into electric surfboards, essentially surfing the water with the help of underwater thrusters.
Valo is Kearney's third foray into entrepreneurship. In 2017, he moved from Sydney to San Francisco to join the Y Combinator startup accelerator with his on-demand photography startup, Snapr. His companions at YC include a company that makes electric 737 aircraft, a company that designs a health-tracking wearable device for cows, Fitbit, and a decarbonization startup, which were all catalysts in his entrepreneurial journey.
As a child, Kearney and his father watched hours of footage of the MIT human-powered hydrofoil project (below) and dreamed of one day applying the technology to life in some way. The transition from photo app CEO to yacht entrepreneur was not entirely unexpected: he studied civil engineering at university and subsequently earned a master's degree in oceanography and coastal engineering at the University of New South Wales.
MIT Human Hydrofoil Project
In 2019, he again started his new technology company, BLT, through the Y Combinator startup accelerator, which began developing hydrofoil ocean freighters. The goal is to replace air cargo, a $100 billion industry that produces a lot of carbon dioxide.
In 2021, BLT launched the electric hydrofoil ferry concept
In 2021, BLT launched the hydrofoil container ship concept
By demo day, he and his team had built a working prototype in just 10 weeks and proudly presented his zero-emission hydrofoil container to attendees. The plan was intended to be scaled up, but the shipping industry, which is known for its conservativeness, did not accept it. Kearney has raised $5 million (plus $90 million in letters of intent), but that's just a drop in the ocean in the shipbuilding world. He said it was expensive to build large ships. Their size means they must be powered by zero-emission liquid hydrogen, which adds another layer of complexity.
Y Combinator演示日,水翼集装箱船工作原型
Y Combinator演示日,右为BLT CEO:Ed Kearney
Fast forward to 2022, and Kearney's business seems to have struggling. That's when he thought, let's go to the other end of the spectrum and make the smallest thing possible to showcase our key technology. So he planned to enter the field of hydrofoil motorboats.
The motorboat market size is $1.9 billion in 2023
It's fun, it's different, and the timing is good. The jet ski market is booming: in 2023, the global jet ski turnover reached $1.9 billion, with North America accounting for 62% of the market. "Because it's a toy, you don't have to make a business case," Kearney said. "But it shows the core technology. The leisure yacht industry is less price sensitive...... They spend money because they want to. ”
He spun off the team from BKT to form Valo, and within six months he had a prototype of Hyperfoil. The hull is made of grey Styrofoam, the rear platform has visible wires, and the overall look looks more like an impressive stage prop than a water-flying Tesla.
The first flight of the prototype
The company had previously been testing its prototype, which shaped the current Hyperfoil design. The final product will look even more refined and refined, with the Valo Founding Edition (which the company says it will produce 60 for the first time) as a sleek and wireless hydrofoil vehicle, with the production model doing away with the prototype's three-hydrofoil design, which had two hydrofoils in the front and one in the rear, in favor of a streamlined two-hydrofoil design.
Measuring 11.5 feet (3.5 meters) long and 3.9 feet (1.2 meters) wide, this hydrofoil jet ski will be able to accelerate from 0 to 45 mph in 8 seconds, with an integrated advanced battery system, hydrofoil, control panel, drives, sensors, computer, and electronics, and a net weight of 595 lbs (270 kg) and a maximum load of 1,025 lbs (465 kg).
The latest design, which is both flexible and rugged, was designed in-house by the Valo team, who designed a range of aircraft, from self-landing rockets, hyperloops, drones to hydrofoils, using aerospace, motorsports and America's Cup boating technology to create what has been described as a revolutionary weightless flying experience.
Hyperfoil will be manufactured in California, with parts manufactured at facilities in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand, using the latest modern materials, including high-modulus carbon fiber composites, titanium, ultra-high-strength stainless steel and vegan leather seats. Equipped with retractable carbon sheet-like struts, the hydrofoil and electric propulsion module can be moved to shallow water operations at hull level, or when it reaches a takeoff speed of 15 mph (24 km/h), the hydrofoil can be lowered, lifted from the waves and flew.
An active fly-by-wire flight stability system running proprietary Skyride flight control software to manage "altitude" and stability, as well as turns and leans (which is really the key technology behind the car), measures Valo's position, status and behavior 100 times per second, and then calculates the position of the flaps on each control surface and hydrofoil, aiming to achieve a good balance between agility and agility.
Mr Kearney said consumer interest has been strong. He receives emails and Instagram inquiries from potential clients every week. The goal, he said, is to build traction and then channel interest back into the freight space. "[That's] the premise for us to build a bigger product...... [We will] seize market opportunities from the other direction. ”
This seems like a huge leap forward, and I desperately need more answers. "Of course, no one is going to ride our jet skis, and by the way, I also have an air cargo company," Kearney said. Instead, he hopes that the wider adaptation of hydrofoils through the use of hydrofoil motorboats will solidify this science.
The Hyperfoil is priced at $59,000. In addition, the company has signed a letter of intent with National Marine, a provider of suppliers and support services for superyachts, to distribute Valo Hyperfoil to customers.