SPM turns its off-road vehicle battery systems into a business for other builders

Super Powers Mobility (SPM) began by developing electric off-road vehicle systems. The company now sells battery packs, power electronics and engineering to other builders, with a focus on mobile energy and defense applications.

The shift makes a subsystem the center of the business. SPM offers other manufacturers the power systems they need for their own equipment.

In its YC launch announcement, founder Jonathan Powers says SPM began directly selling battery-pack and power-system capabilities in August 2026 and secured more than $400,000 in contracted revenue within a month. This is company-reported contracted business, not independently verified cash collected or recognized revenue.

Watch SPM’s original launch video.

The initial engineering work focused on high-voltage powertrains for light off-road vehicles. SPM says it shifted toward energy and military mobility systems later that summer, including unmanned ground, aerial and surface vehicles. Its launch reports participation in four federal contracts to supply batteries and power electronics, without identifying the contracts or their individual values.

SPM describes selling to existing prime contractors that need battery packs. Becoming a government prime itself in 2027 is a stated plan, not a status established by the launch. Its immediate business is supplying systems to other organizations building their own products.

The company says it is expanding automated production in Pittsburgh and was booked into February 2027 at the time of its announcement. It describes designing the pack and supporting systems while sourcing the cells, using an approach intended to support custom packs without specialized assembly equipment. The launch does not provide independent manufacturing or performance benchmarks.

Powers brings vehicle-development experience to the effort. In the announcement, he describes four years at Tesla as a senior mechanical integration engineer on Cybertruck, two years at Honda R&D Americas as a powersports vehicle engineer and four years as a professionally sponsored off-road racer. He identifies himself as SPM’s solo founder while emphasizing the team behind its engineering and production work.

For hardware founders, the business decision is the notable part of the story. Building a complete product can reveal a component that other companies also struggle to source. SPM is testing whether its work on off-road powertrains can serve a broader set of customers buying battery packs and power systems.

The next test is execution against those orders: translating contracted demand into systems customers can integrate and use. SPM’s launch presents early commercial traction and a production expansion plan, while leaving delivery outcomes and independent performance validation for future evidence.

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