When QuantumScape CEO Jagdeep Singh met with Bill Gates in 2012, he was worried about the billionaire's intentions.
Singh wanted Gates to invest in his company, which is developing solid-state batteries, but feared what could happen if he did. That's because Gates has funded Intellectual Ventures, a firm that buys and develops patents. And while Singh believes parts of Intellectual Ventures do "real research," he told Insider he thinks others acquire patents for one purpose: suing other companies, not using them to develop a product or service.
"IV has a long history of creating, incubating, and commercializing impactful inventions," Intellectual Ventures executive vice president Mathen Ganesan said in a statement to Insider. "Litigation is never our aim, but it is sometimes necessary, which is true for any company looking to protect its intellectual property."
Singh said he thought Gates might funnel information from Singh and his cofounders, Fritz Prinz and Tim Holme, back to Intellectual Ventures, so they were wary of sharing too many details with him early on.
But the more Singh and Gates talked, the more confident Singh became that Gates' interest in QuantumScape was genuine.
"We were a little bit cautious in those early days with him," Singh said. "But as we got to know him, we realized he was somebody who absolutely believed in what we were doing and was a super high-integrity guy."
In theory, solid-state batteries can top the lithium-ion cells used in today's electric vehicles and phones in performance, energy density, and safety, but companies and researchers have spent decades trying to find a formula that will make them reliable enough for consumer products.
During their presentation to Gates, Singh said he Fritz, and Holme didn't have as much test data as they do now to indicate QuantumScape was on the right track, so they emphasized the enormous impact improved batteries could have on reducing greenhouse-gas emissions. In addition to making EVs safer, cheaper, and able to drive longer distances between chargers, solid-state batteries could also make it easier to store energy from the wind and sun.
Singh got the sense that Gates had spent a lot of time studying batteries before they met and was surprised by how much he knew about their chemistry. Singh, Prinz, and Holme were able to move through their presentation quickly because Gates understood the technical details of topics like cathode composition and dendrite formation, Singh said.
But Singh said he and his co-founders made clear to Gates that they had not developed the key ingredient that would make their batteries work, and didn't know if they could.
"We were pretty transparent with Bill and the other investors about the risks ahead of us," Singh said.
Gates bought in anyway, investing in QuantumScape in January 2013, shortly after he was pitched by Singh, Prinz, and Holme. Singh thinks Gates was persuaded by the quality of QuantumScape's team and the size of its ambitions.
Singh said he couldn't recall the amount of money Gates has invested in QuantumScape, and QuantumScape said it couldn't disclose the number. A representative for Gates did not respond to Insider's question about the size of Gates' investment.
But now, Singh believes QuantumScape has found a winning formula for its batteries and is focused on building a high-volume manufacturing operation, a task some battery experts think will be a major challenge. If QuantumScape can pull it off, Singh thinks the company could one day earn a multi-hundred-billion-dollar valuation.
"He took a risk, but luckily it panned out," Singh said of Gates. "We're now at the brink of making this happen."
Are you a current or former QuantumScape employee? Do you have a news tip or opinion you'd like to share? Contact this reporter at mmatousek@bjinnox.com, on Signal at 646-768-4712, or via his encrypted email address mmatousek@protonmail.com.
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