Tula is driven by an overriding passion to increase efficiency and improve the environment. The company is focused primarily on applications for passenger automobiles, commercial vehicles for on and off road and electric vehicles of any size. And the company has delivered proven results with over three million vehicles on the road using its technologies to decrease greenhouse gas emissions and increase fuel savings. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Tula CEO Scott Bailey to learn more about the company.
Scott Bailey’s Background
(Tula Technology, Inc. CEO Scott Bailey)
Could you tell me more about your background? Bailey said:
“I’ve worked in the auto industry my entire professional life. I started with GM, but I always worked on the ‘parts side’ of the house and ultimately spun out of GM when Delphi was launched as a separate company. After a 33-year career that spanned vehicle electrical and electronic systems, chassis systems and powertrain, I retired and ultimately joined Tula Technology as the CEO in 2011.”
Formation Of Tula
How did the idea for the company come together? Bailey shared:
“Dr. Adya Tripathi founded Tula Technology in 2008 with the idea that he could apply his strong background in advanced digital signal processing to engine and powertrain controls to create an optimized combustion engine that would operate at peak efficiency for any given level of requested torque. His concept became Dynamic Skip Fire (DSF), a technology that is in use on over 3 million GM full size trucks and SUVs. The same innovative control approach evolved further and now underpins Tula’s Dynamic Motor Drive (DMD).”
“Tula is Adya’s third successful start-up. Prior to Tula, he founded Tripath Technology, a public company in digital audio amplification that reached a valuation of over $1 billion due to a chip design that IEEE recognized as one of the ‘25 Microchips that Shook the World.’”
Favorite Memory
What has been your favorite memory working for the company so far? Bailey reflected:
“After working in a large traditional automotive company for so many years, joining a small Silicon Valley start-up with an unproven product concept and no ‘safety net’ represented a significant but invigorating change. We not only had the freedom to pursue innovative solutions to tough problems, but the mandate to do exactly that. Every week brought some new and challenging issues to light, along with countless learning opportunities and too many sleepless nights. Against this backdrop, many ‘favorite’ memories were forged as problems were solved, development and/or production contracts were earned, or when industry awards for our hard work were won. But there is one memory that stands out.”
“In the fall of 2015, we were ready for our first major road trip with a technology demonstrator vehicle. We shipped a GMC Yukon Denali that we had extensively modified to include our DSF technology to Europe for several weeks of customer demonstrations. We crisscrossed the continent, driving over 2,000 miles to meet with most of Europe’s leading automakers. Along the way we encountered torrential rains, many curious onlookers, parking garages and car washes that were too small for our vehicle, and more than one skeptical customer. My favorite quote from the trip… the R&D head of a luxury brand said, ‘This technology should not work. But it does!’ That quote perfectly captures what drives Tula – doing what does not seem possible. And the memory is my favorite because beyond the great stories the team has to tell, we effectively put our small company on the map.”
Core Products
(Tula retrofitted a Tesla Model 3 with an externally excited synchronous motor (EESM) running Dynamic Motor Drive software)
What are the company’s core products and features? Bailey explained:
“We are an algorithm and controls company that does not produce a product per se. Rather, we license our IP portfolio to the automotive industry to be incorporated into their comprehensive powertrain control systems. Tula’s tag line is ‘We Drive Efficiency,’ and all of our current products are focused on improving the overall efficiency of both internal combustion engines as well as electric drive units. Looking ahead, we will broaden our scope to include other industries that use electric machines such as power generation and factory automation.”
Challenges Faced
What challenges have Bailey and the team faced in building the company? Bailey acknowledged:
“The major challenge we are currently facing is the uncertainty affecting all of the automotive space. More specifically, is the slower growth in EV sales merely a speed bump, or does the slowdown represent a much more significant customer and structural impediment? As essentially a software company, we are fortunate in that we do not have significant capital tied up in underutilized manufacturing facilities. However, our customers are definitely affected, which adds significant uncertainty to our market.”
“At this point, I can’t say we have overcome this challenge, but since we offer high-value efficiency that also offers our customers a path to avoid problematic rare earth materials, we are well positioned to succeed no matter what the growth rate ultimately becomes.”
Evolution Of Tula’s Technology
How has the company’s technology evolved since launching? Bailey noted:
“Tula’s initial products were focused on improving the efficiency of internal combustion engines while also reducing emissions. The innovative powertrain control approach became known as Dynamic Skip Fire because we would make a real time decision each time a cylinder came up in the firing order to either fire the cylinder or skip it. The key was to fire only the number of cylinders needed to deliver the torque requested by the driver (via their right foot), while firing each cylinder at its optimum efficiency. In the GM V8 example, this approach yielded a 15% improvement in drive cycle efficiency. This control approach has been applied to a variety of engine types, including mild hybrids and diesel engines for commercial vehicles.”
“The same fundamental control approach was then expanded to electric motors. In this case, there are no cylinders to skip to enable firing at higher efficiency. However, electric motors have a similar characteristic as their internal combustion counterpart – there is an area of operation where the efficiency of the electric motor is at its highest. Instead of turning cylinders off or on to stay in the optimal efficiency zone, we use a pulsing strategy to operate the motor a greater percentage of the time near its peak efficiency. This approach delivers improvements of up to 3% in drive cycle efficiency.”
Significant Milestones
What have been some of the company’s most significant milestones? Bailey cited:
— Tula Technology, Inc. founded: 2008
— First US patent issued for DSF: 2009
— GM investment + development agreements: 2012
— First international patent (Japan): 2014
— Delphi investment in Tula: 2015
— GM production begins: 2018
— Dynamic Motor Drive (DMD) initiated: 2019
— First DMD customer development projects: 2023
— Expected first DMD production launch: 2025
Customer Success Stories
When asking Bailey about customer success stories, he highlighted:
“The most consequential customer story involves GM. GM became interested in Tula and DSF in late 2011, in part because we had used a full-size GMC SUV as our demonstration vehicle, plus we built a compelling case for DSF without any help or support from GM. After some testing and evaluation at GM facilities, we started work on an investment agreement, a technology development agreement and a commercial agreement. Ultimately all of the agreements were completed, and joint work began in 2012.”
“After a successful advanced development project, work began by GM and their suppliers on the software, controls and new hardware required to put DSF into production. GM markets DSF as Dynamic Fuel Management, and series production started in 2018 on their V8 engines for full size trucks and SUVs. GM and Tula won the prestigious PACE award for this innovation, and Wards Automotive named the GM engine one of the ‘10 Best’ in the industry. More importantly, there are now over 3 million DSF-equipped vehicles on the road, and because of our technology, each vehicle saves on average one ton of CO2 emissions annually.”
Funding
When asking Bailey about the company’s funding details, he revealed:
“Tula is a privately owned company with a strong base of investors. We have had five rounds of funding. The first two rounds were led by venture capital companies (Sequoia Capital, Khosla Ventures and Sigma Partners), the third round by GM, the fourth by Delphi Powertrain (now BorgWarner), and the last round was a smaller bridge financing to get to the point where Tula was cashflow positive. This round was led by Franklin Templeton.”
Total Addressable Market
What total addressable market (TAM) size is the company pursuing? Bailey assessed:
“The total addressable market is essentially the global automotive market for electrified passenger vehicles plus portions of the commercial vehicle segment where DMD can apply. There are a variety of forecasts available, but a reasonable nearer term estimate is 30 million vehicles by 2030.”
“Also, DSF will serve an important role in emissions reduction for that portion of the commercial vehicle market that will remain reliant on internal combustion engines.”
Differentiation From The Competition
What differentiates the company from its competition? Bailey affirmed:
“Tula’s base technology has its roots in advanced signal processing, and our served market is primarily automotive. Putting these two factors together has resulted in some unique solutions to common problems. At a macro level, our software-based controls approach has produced significant gains in efficiency whereas many of our competitors rely on hardware-based solutions. Not only does this make us much more capital efficient, but we also are not impacted by supply lines, supplier quality, raw material price increases or geopolitical issues.”
“At a micro level, we have also used advanced signal processing techniques to eliminate physical sensors in propulsion system controls, thereby reducing cost and improving reliability.”
“Ultimately, while we absolutely must deeply understand the hardware in the systems we are controlling, we are not constrained in our thinking to hardware solutions.”
Future Company Goals
What are some of the company’s future company goals? Bailey concluded:
“While we still have much work to do to grow DMD to its full potential in the mobility space, we recognize there are other industries that can benefit from improved efficiency of electric motors and electric drives. This will become even more important as the world strives for carbon neutrality over the next few decades, so we have plans to expand our scope beyond automotive. We also have a few other “wild ideas” to explore, and while I won’t say more than that, you can pretty much bet they involve improved efficiency.”
