- 11 Iulie 2024
Swisspod secures investment to test world's largest hyperloop testing hub
Companies such as Charlie Holding — offering services in property development, real estate investments, startup guidance, and financial partnerships, all centered around data-driven investor support, E-INFRA Group — consisting of 5 Romanian companies with high expertise in complex infrastructure projects in energy, construction, and telecommunications domains, and Polysys Industries — privately held UAE-based company actively investing in and developing technology startups, alongside a select group of business angels participated in Swisspod's pre-series A round.
“This funding round enables us to pave the way for a transportation revolution that’s as practical as it’s futuristic. Our unique technology is not only ultra-fast and sustainable, but it solves the biggest challenge of deploying hyperloop systems — making them cost-effective to build and maintain. We've achieved this by making the infrastructure passive and embedding all the advanced technology within self-contained pods”, explained Denis Tudor, CEO and Co-Founder of Swisspod.
The capital raised will fast-track the completion of Swisspod's second hyperloop facility, located in Colorado, USA. Once finished, the full-scale system construction will cover 162,000 square meters (40 acres) — three times the size of the Louvre and twice that of the White House grounds.
In addition to being the world's largest hyperloop testing facility, it will stand out as the only hub designed for long-distance hyperloop missions, thanks to its unique closed-loop configuration — a crucial feature for precise and efficient technology validation.
After successfully installing the first 100 meters of hyperloop tubes in the U.S., Swisspod has begun the construction on the next 100 meters. Completing this section will unlock the testing phase of the company’s first full-scale hyperloop product on-site.
As part of its strategy for bringing hyperloop to the market, Swisspod already started technology trials in Switzerland, at Europe's first hyperloop testing facility. Recently, the company achieved a record-breaking hyperloop journey here, covering 9.6 km, the equivalent to 115.2 km for the full-scale system, setting new benchmarks in the industry.
Built in partnership with Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) and Haute Ecole d'Ingénierie et de Gestion du Canton de Vaud (HEIG-VD), the Swiss testing site serves as a scaled-down model of the infrastructure the company is currently building in Colorado, USA, offering a cost-effective and rapid way of advancing and testing hyperloop technology.
Swisspod has received significant support from the Swiss Government through two grants to further its research and development in hyperloop technology. At the same time, the company, together with a group of 5 prestigious research centers from Europe, has secured a grant of €3.5 million from the European Innovation Council (EIC) and the Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI), for the Muspell project aimed at developing a solution that will also contribute to optimizing the thermal management of hyperloop. Expanding its global footprint, the company has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Swiss and Indian Governments, along with the Indian startup TuTr Hyperloop, to advance the development and commercialization of hyperloop technology in India.
Swisspod is a Swiss-American transportation technology company leading the development of the most sustainable, efficient, and comprehensive Hyperloop solution. The company was founded in 2019 by Denis Tudor, CEO, and Cyril Dénéréaz, CTO, two multiple-award winners of the SpaceX Hyperloop Competition.
Swisspod aims to change the way people travel by connecting every major city using sustainable, carbon-neutral, energy-efficient, and high-speed transportation solutions. The company envisions a continental map of connections between major cities that will facilitate collaboration, accelerate human progress, and create a more prosperous future for the generations to come.