GM buys Israel-based software startup Algolion to detect early battery defects

GM said Algolion’s software will help the Detroit automaker bring to the market a “cost-effective” early hazard detection system at a quicker pace.

The deal, for an undisclosed sum, comes at a time when automakers are investing billions in manufacturing electric vehicles (EVs) and rushing to develop batteries – which represent up to 50% of an EV’s price tag – that can power an automobile for a longer duration.

It also comes as safety authorities urge U.S. automakers to improve battery standards after a series of events where vehicles have caught fire due to defective modules.

Algolion has developed a software that uses data from EV battery management systems to help identify anomalies in cell performance and provide early detection of battery hazards including “thermal runaway propagation events”, GM said.

A thermal runaway is a rapid and unstoppable increase in temperature that leads to fires in EVs.

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Algolion, founded in 2014, will join more than 850 employees at GM’s Technical Center in Herzliya, Israel. Shares of GM were up 1% in afternoon trade on Friday amid a rise in broader markets.