Qnovo, a battery software company based in Milpitas, California, announced a strategic investment from Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Corporation. The deal deepens collaboration between the companies and accelerates deployment of Qnovo’s battery intelligence platform across electric and future mobility applications.
Highlights
- Hyundai Motor and Kia made a strategic investment in Qnovo, expanding their partnership around battery intelligence software for EV platforms.
- The investment follows years of joint testing, during which Qnovo’s physics-based algorithms were validated under real-world conditions against OEM reliability standards.
- Global battery demand is projected to quadruple to more than 4,000 GWh by 2030, according to the IEA’s Global EV Outlook 2025.
- Qnovo’s software-only architecture delivers real-time battery health data without additional hardware, supporting warranty underwriting and residual value assessment.
Battery Demand Drives Software Investment
The electrification market is accelerating rapidly. Total battery demand across EVs and energy storage is expected to exceed 4 TWh by 2030, according to the IEA. Batteries now power a broad range of applications. These include electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids, grid storage, and renewable energy systems.
However, challenges around affordability, reliability, and lifecycle economics remain. These constraints continue to slow the pace of the energy transition. Qnovo’s approach addresses these barriers through software rather than hardware changes.
How Qnovo’s Platform Works
Qnovo delivers a digital accounting of battery health through a scalable, hardware-free architecture. The platform enables automakers to maximize performance and safety in real time. Additionally, it provides the precise data needed to underwrite warranties and unlock actual residual value throughout the battery lifecycle.
The company’s technology relies on physics-based predictive algorithms. These are enhanced with AI and machine learning. As a result, the software delivers real-time insights into battery performance with 98.7% accuracy in detecting potential safety issues.
Collaboration Built on Rigorous Testing
The investment follows years of collaborative testing between Qnovo and Hyundai Motor and Kia. During that period, Qnovo’s predictive algorithms underwent extensive validation. The results demonstrated that intelligent software can meet the strict reliability standards required by global OEMs.
Chang Hwan Kim, executive vice president of Hyundai Motor Company, said the partnership enables integration of battery intelligence into Hyundai’s EV platforms. He noted that Qnovo’s approach aligns with the company’s vision for software-driven customer experience and vehicle longevity.
Strategic Shift Toward Software-Defined Batteries
The deal signals a broader shift in how global automakers view battery management. Rather than treating it as a component-level concern, OEMs increasingly see battery intelligence as a strategic differentiator. As mobility expands into autonomous systems and robotics, software-defined intelligence will increasingly dictate performance, safety, and economics.
Nadim Maluf, CEO of Qnovo, said the company is establishing a new standard for how batteries are managed, valued, and scaled globally.
Qnovo’s Investor Base and Technology Portfolio
Hyundai Motor and Kia join a group of existing investors. These include Blue Earth Capital, BorgWarner, Climate Investment (CI), Constellation, RockPort Capital, and US Venture Partners.
Qnovo holds more than 60 patents in battery management technology. The company’s platform is supported by over 2 million kilometers of vehicle road data and more than 200 million deployed devices.
For more information, visit www.qnovo.com.
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