General Motors Co. has acquired Israel-based battery software startup ALGOLiON Ltd. for an undisclosed amount, the Detroit automaker said in a news release Friday.
ALGOLiON was founded in 2014 and received early support from the Israeli Innovation Authority, the support arm of the Israeli government, according to the release. The startup's software uses data from EV battery management systems to identify "anomalies" in cell performance, enabling early detection of battery problems.
GM said the software uses "sophisticated algorithms to identify minuscule changes that could impact battery health weeks earlier than other methods in use today without additional hardware or sensors all while the battery is still operating properly."
"ALGOLiON has developed cutting edge battery analytics and prediction software that will help General Motors deliver great performing EVs for our customers," said Gil Golan, vice president of the newly-formed Technology Acceleration and Commercialization, or TAC, group within GM.
"The ALGOLiON team is excited to join GM on its track to an all-electric vehicle future," said Niles Fleischer, a battery industry veteran who is a co-founder of the startup. "We found the right home for our technology to play an integral role in maintaining healthy batteries for exciting products and reach customers globally."
GM is preparing to launch a bevy of electric vehicles on its proprietary Ultium battery platform, part of its plan to scale up EV production to 1 million units in North America by the end of 2025 and to have an entirely zero-emissions product portfolio by 2035. Just this year, GM is launching an electric version of the Chevy Silverado, the Equinox EV and the Blazer EV.
ALGOLiON employees, including the company's founders, will remain based in Israel. They will join more than 850 employees at the GM Technical Center in Herzliya, Israel, where employees work in areas including machine earning and cyber security. The ALGOLiON team will be led by Guy Daniely, senior engineering manager, according to GM.
