New Aerospace Firm, LaunchPoint EPS, Prepared for Takeoff into Electric Aircraft Markets

Seasoned startup executive, Robert Reali, to lead venture

GOLETA, California 11/5/2020 – A team of high-level engineers and business executives from Santa Barbara are betting big on the future of electric-powered flight with the formation of a new startup, LaunchPoint Electric Propulsion Solutions (LaunchPoint EPS).

The fledgling aerospace firm emerges from longstanding, Goleta-based technology incubator and think tank, LaunchPoint Technologies, a leader in cutting-edge engineering design. LaunchPoint EPS will specialize in supplying cutting edge modeling and design software, hardware in the form of electric motors, hybrid gensets and controllers, and control software for the world’s fast-growing electric-and hybrid-electric-powered aircraft sector. This includes flight applications under development by companies such as major automotive companies, Uber and its air taxi affiliates and the U.S. military, ranging from cargo-carrying drones to airborne passenger taxis.

Robert Reali, an experienced leader of early-stage technology companies, will serve as LaunchPoint EPS’ Chief Executive Officer. Reali was previously chief operations officer for Santa Barbara-based startup TrueVision where he helped grow the company from four employees to a major eye-surgery device firm that was acquired by Alcon (a division of Novartis) in 2019.

LaunchPoint EPS has acquired all the assets and know-how of LaunchPoint Technologies related to the electric motor, hybrid-electric gensets and controller business including patents, intellectual property and proprietary processes, contracts, product orders, inventory, facilities, key personnel, and employees.

“The new company is focused on serving the surging urban air mobility market which has increased the demand for our power-dense electric motors and control software by the world’s largest players in this space,” said Reali. “The main reason for the spinout from LaunchPoint Technologies is to focus on shipping the products we invented. However, we will also continue the tradition of developing innovative new products to address market needs.”

LaunchPoint Technologies co-founders UCSB Professor Emeritus Dr. Brad Paden and brother, Dave Paden, will be part of the LaunchPoint EPS management team serving as Chief Scientist and VP of Manufacturing, respectively, along with former CEO and now LaunchPoint EPS Chief Technology Officer Mike Ricci, and Engineering Director Brian J. Clark. Chris Grieco, previously Executive Vice President of bulk energy storage company Gravity Power, LLC, will serve as LaunchPoint EPS’ Vice President for Global Business Development and Sales.

LaunchPoint EPS executive team shown accompanying their industry-first genset for the emerging electric aviation markets.

Photo L-R: Robert Reali (Chief Executive Officer); Brian Clark (Engineering Director); Brad Paden (Chief Scientist); Chris Grieco (VP of Business Development & Sales); Dave Paden (VP of Manufacturing); and Mike Ricci (Chief Technology Officer).

Budding Electric Aerospace Propulsion Supplier LaunchPoint Piling up Early Milestones

Company begins shipping products to customers and secures new U.S. Department of Defense contracts.

GOLETA, California – LaunchPoint Electric Propulsion Solutions, a pioneering California startup that models and produces electric motors and hybrid-electric propulsion systems for the aerospace industry, has hit several milestones in its first six months in business.

The fledgling aerospace development firm has begun shipping two versions of its hybrid-electric propulsion systems to commercial and defense customers. To date, the Company’s contracted customers include the U.S. DOD, large U.S. DOD contractors, aerospace and automotive companies, and more.

LaunchPoint’s initial products – the 6KW hybrid-electric genset for drones and the 40KW gensets for larger drone cargo and future air taxis – are designed for extended-range flights and expanded mission capabilities. Future products in planning now address the coming, higher-power Urban Air Mobility market applications. These low-altitude passenger-carrying aircraft utilizing hybrid-electric and pure electric flight are widely regarded as the future of aerospace for urban transportation.

The company plans to test its proprietary flight products with drone customers through the first quarter of 2021. Company executives expect a larger volume of sales to follow as demonstrations and testing garner visibility from large customers globally.

“We have more than doubled in size since June and continue to hire key personnel and implement manufacturing upgrades. We are seeing exponential interest in our advanced modeling tools and products for both drones and the future Urban Air Mobility markets” said Rob Reali, LaunchPoint’s CEO.

Reali said the Company is constantly expanding its patent portfolio, providing protection for the firm’s engineering breakthroughs within a growing field of international competitors. As the markets grow, LaunchPoint expects to lock up critical intellectual property in the space, Reali said.

In addition to its commercial contracts and orders, the company has received a $1 million Small Business Innovation Research grant from the U.S. Army to further develop its technology for hybrid- electric flight. The U.S. Department of Defense also recently awarded LaunchPoint and its partner Georgia Tech two contracts to help develop flying car technology for the U.S. Air Force’s Agility Prime program.

“We applaud the vision of the U.S. Department of Defense in helping fast-track development of this technology,” said Chris Grieco, LaunchPoint’s global vice president of business development and sales. “Ultimately, it will require a solid investment from the U.S. government to ensure the electric flight industry achieves its full potential through certification. This combined with the very large, global strategic moves now being made by the conventional aerospace firms, automotive companies and well-backed, experienced, private developers leaves no doubt this is a dawn of a major industry.”

LaunchPoint is also collaborating with the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Colorado under a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) to explore advanced manufacturing techniques for its lightweight aerospace motors.

Pictured is our newly released 40kW genset product which began shipping globally to customers in November 2020

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jennifer Goddard Combs
805-565-3990
jennifer@thegoddardcompany.com

Aerospace Startup, LaunchPoint, Releases New
Hybrid Generator for Electricity-Powered Flight

•
GOLETA, California – A newly released, hybrid-electric generator system developed by Santa Barbara-area startup, LaunchPoint, opens up new possibilities in the fast-growing field of hybrid electric-powered flight. The product is currently available only from LaunchPoint and is shipping to domestic and global customers.

Created by a team of elite engineers over a decade, the LaunchPoint HPS400 GenSet is a 40kW generator with the capacity to power large drones and flying vehicle missions that require extended ranges of flight. This innovative technology offers new opportunities for companies working to develop extended-flight, airborne transportation, and cargo delivery systems for what’s known as the Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) markets.

Until now, the 40kW market has been underserved. LaunchPoint developed the HPS400 GenSet with the goal of fulfilling this unmet demand, and sales of the product have been swift since its release.

“We’re thrilled to announce the launch of this 40kW hybrid power system,” said Rob Reali, LaunchPoint’s CEO. “Given our work the past ten years in the space, we know this is a product that the market wants and needs, and we’re excited to see how quickly the AAM markets continue to adopt our hybrid electric propulsion systems.”

Highly efficient and power-dense, the HPS400 GenSet uses LaunchPoint-patented technology including an air-cooled alternator, lightweight aircraft engine, software and controls and a battery management system that allows for in-flight battery charging.

Other features include SmartPoint™ Control Software, an air-cooled alternator and electronics, CAN communications to the flight controller for monitoring system status, automatic throttle control to match the bus load and share power with the battery, and fans and radiators sized to ensure sufficient engine cooling in hover and other low airflow conditions.

LaunchPoint is delivering the new 40kW genset along with its 6kW hybrid-electric genset to commercial aerospace, automotive and air taxi companies globally. The firm has also secured more than$1.25 million in grants from the U.S. Department of Defense to develop hybrid-electric flight technology for flying cars.

Started six months ago as a spinout from Goleta-based technology incubator and think tank, LaunchPoint Technologies, LaunchPoint has already secured multiple patents, product sales, and contracts for both commercial and government markets. The Company plans to further expand its team and manufacturing capabilities in the coming months to meet growing demand for electric flight propulsion systems.

For more information about the LaunchPoint HPS400 GenSet, contact Chris Grieco, Vice President of Business Development and Sales, at 1-805-679-3072 or via email at cgrieco@launchpointeps.com

LaunchPoint EPS is located at 5735 Hollister Ave., Suite B, in Goleta. For more information call 805-683-9659 or visit https://www.launchpointEPS.com/

Seed Funding Round for Electric Aerospace Firm, LaunchPoint, met with Investor Enthusiasm

New Board Member and CFO Join Management Team

GOLETA, California – LaunchPoint, a Santa Barbara-area, aerospace startup that develops electric motors, hybrid-electric propulsion systems and control software for drones and flying cars, announced today that it closed an oversubscribed round of seed funding.

The robust investor response comes just six months into LaunchPoint’s creation by a team of engineers and business executives, who spun the company out from cutting-edge engineering design incubator, LaunchPoint Technologies in Goleta. Since starting as a new business in June of 2020, LaunchPoint has entered multiple contracts with commercial aerospace and automotive companies and secured more than $1 million in grants from the U.S. Department of Defense to develop hybrid-electric flight technology and flying cars.

“The success of our seed funding round confirms what we see every day – That there’s significant interest in our technology and the advanced air-mobility propulsion solutions we provide,” said Rob Reali, LaunchPoint’s CEO. “Investors clearly have confidence in our business plan, management team, and talented engineers. This funding accelerates production for existing orders and will bolster our ability to manufacture products in quantity and expand our operations.”

With the seed funding, LaunchPoint has made key new hires, boosted its manufacturing capabilities and expanded the company’s patent portfolio, providing growing protection for the firm’s engineering breakthroughs within an expanding field of international competitors. Demand for electric flight propulsion systems is rising rapidly and LaunchPoint expects that trend to continue, Reali said.

LaunchPoint is currently selling two hybrid-electric propulsion systems – the 6kW hybrid-electric genset for drones and the 40kW genset for larger drone cargo and future air taxis. The company is also developing new products for the higher-power Advanced Air Mobility markets. Firms in these markets are working to build electric and hybrid-electric cargo delivery as well as passenger-carrying aircrafts that are widely regarded as the future of aerospace transportation.

“We’ve achieved all this in the middle of a pandemic and are able to create good jobs,” Reali noted. “We’re looking forward to a strong year with customers in 2021.”

Additionally, the company recently added two new team members: Cyrus “Cy” Morici as Chief Financial Officer and Dr. Burton Tripathi as a board member.

Mr. Morici has over two decades of finance and accounting experience with successes in M&A and exit strategy. Most recently he worked as CFO for Pacific Design Technologies, a leading designer and manufacturer of complex, highly engineered components and assemblies for the commercial and defense aerospace industry. He helped increase the company’s valuation, streamlined financial reporting, and provided strategic guidance culminating in a successful exit. Prior to PDT, Mr. Morici was Director of Finance for NuSil Technology where he was a key contributor on buy and sell-side M&A transactions. He helped raise over $700 million in term loans culminating with an IPO readiness and S-1 filing initiative. Mr. Morici is a veteran Big-4 accounting firm alumnus.

Dr. Tripathi is currently General Manager and Head of Visualization R&D at Alcon. Prior to Alcon, Dr. Tripathi served as Chief Executive Officer and Chief Technology Officer at TrueVision Systems, where he guided the company to a successful exit coupled with a complex, simultaneous spinout of the company’s non-ophthalmology business. Dr. Tripathi is a McKinsey & Co. management consultant veteran with expertise in advanced technology, life sciences, and corporate finance.