Bill Gates, Silicon Valley VC invest $23.5M in Troy's EcoMotors

Thursday, July 15, 2010 | Source: metromode

Some big names in business have made an even bigger investment in a Metro Detroit start-up; namely, Bill Gates and Khosla Ventures of Silicon Valley fame. The start-up: EcoMotors. The investment: $23.5 million.

"Getting an endorsement from two of the most prominent investors we could have imagined is a big feather in our cap," says Don Runkle, CEO of EcoMotors.

The venture capital investment will allow the Troy-based business to finish developing and testing its opoc engine. The innovative motor vehicle engine is expected to be much more efficient than the traditional internal combustion engine.

Opoc's opposed pistons and cylinders are much more efficient, delivering 50 percent better fuel economy compared to conventional engines. This is made possible by virtue of it's being half the weight and size and containing half the parts of a normal vehicle engine.

EcoMotors was founded two years ago with about a dozen people. Today it employs 31 and gives work to another 15 independent contractors. It hopes to hire another 10 people over the next year through this investment. "We'll do some selective hiring, primarily in the technical fields and business development."

The opoc engine was designed by the company's current chair and CTO, Peter Hofbauer, who designed fuel efficient diesel engines as the former head of powertrain development at VW. Runkle, helped spearhead the development of the General Motors EV1 electric car in the 1990s.

Despite all of this experience in both the automotive industry and in creating greater fuel efficiency, Runkle says he and his partners weren't able to attract any investment from local venture capital firms. It was something they found both "surprising and, frankly, a little comical."

"I wish there were more forward-thinking venture capital firms in Michigan because we have a lot of great entrepreneurs," Runkle says.

Source: Don Runkle, CEO of EcoMotors
Writer: Jon Zemke