German startup Hyperdrives said it has raised €3 million in an oversubscribed pre-seed round to develop its patented cooling technology for electric motors and prepare for large-scale production.
The Munich-based company said the financing, led by Rethink Ventures with participation from First Momentum Ventures, SDAC, Acequia Capital, 2100 Ventures, Prototype Capital and several angel investors, will be used to validate service life according to automotive standards and expand manufacturing readiness.
Hyperdrives, which describes its technology as a “turbocharger for electric drives,” has developed waveguide cooling that directs coolant through copper conductors to dissipate heat at the source. “The result is continuous current densities that are three times higher than in today’s series motors,” the company said.
The startup, founded in 2021, said its design can be industrialised on existing hairpin motor production lines without requiring exotic materials. “Over three product generations, we have proven that this breakthrough in motor performance does not require exotic materials or new production concepts,” said CEO and co-founder Robin Renz.
Co-founder and CTO Michael Numberger added: “Direct cooling in the copper conductor allows us to achieve up to three times higher current densities than today’s series motors – more power in the same space or the same power with significantly lower weight.”
Hyperdrives has already generated more than €1 million in sales in 2024 and supplies drive systems with integrated SiC inverters to customers in automotive, aviation and marine sectors. The company also offers technology licences for large-scale manufacturers.
“Hyperdrives solves one of the toughest trade-offs in e-mobility: maximum performance and efficiency with true scalability,” said Matthias Schanze, General Partner at Rethink Ventures. “Their waveguide platform is the first to combine motorsport power density with VW-level costs and manufacturing.”
