Hey All,

Happy October! It's wild how fast the year is moving, but our network isn’t slowing down one bit.

This month, we've got two alumni who are hitting some huge milestones and continuing to charge forward.

Bimotal is officially a seven-figure revenue company, recently crossing $1.1M! Plus, they're taking their high-performance powertrains into the super exciting world of robotics.

Satlyt is securing key NASA contracts and already halfway towards their $7M Seed round to transform satellite computing.

Great stuff from the community. Scroll down to read the full updates from Toby and Rama.

Hi Tesla Alumni,

Bimotal started from a knee injury. Torn cartilage left me unable to ride steep trails—ebikes in 2019 were heavy and expensive. I set out to build a modular motor that could click on and off, efficiently transfer torque to a wheel, and serve as both a recovery tool and a performance boost. That idea has since evolved into a broader mission: building high-performance micro powertrains to power motion.

Leaving Tesla was an incredibly difficult decision. But with the Model 3 ramp stable, a clear product vision, and a drive to create something new, I took the leap—stepping away from a decade-long identity built at Tesla (2009 intern through 2019) and carrying invaluable lessons. A special thanks to the incredible community of Tesla engineers for the mentorship that was always generously given.

Our lean team of 10 engineers and technicians have been steadily scaling Bimotal in the challenging yet rewarding world of high-performance mobility, bikes, and search and rescue. With the massive uptick in AI, robotics, and lowering barriers to software and controls we are excited to announce expansion of our focus to include micro actuators and powertrains for robotics and automation! We’re marking this evolution of our business with the launch of our new website — check it out at bimotal.com.

Other notable updates:

- Bimotal just crossed $1.1M in revenue with our D2C ebike motor, Elevate, an exciting milestone since we began shipping in March 2024.

- Last month, we signed an LOI with a stealth robotics company to design, manufacture, and supply actuators for an autonomously guided off-road vehicle.

- Two other major strategic B2B deals are currently in the works.

Stay tuned for future updates and investment opportunities with Bimotal.

Hi XSLA Crew,

I’m Rama Afullo, Founder & CEO of Satlyt, and proud to be XSLA Ventures’ first ever investment. Before Satlyt, I helped scale Starlink at SpaceX, built global partnerships at Google (across Cloud, AI, Startups, and Ads), and worked on Energy Products and telco deployments at Tesla. Each of those roles gave me a front-row seat to how data infrastructure transforms industries, and now I’m bringing that experience to space.

At Satlyt, we’re building the “Above-cloud Service Provider”: a software-only inter-satellite network that turns satellites into virtual data centers. The goal: reduce latency, increase data sovereignty, and curb emissions while helping operators monetize unused orbital capacity.

Q3 was big for us:

- We launched our $7M Seed round and already have ~$3M soft-committed (including pro-rata follow-on from Antler VC and Slauson & Co.).

- NASA selected us for multiple ACO opportunities across Ames, Goddard, Marshall, and Johsnon, along with an STTR grant via Glenn: $4M strong validation of our architecture.

- We’re preparing for our first orbital demos with partners like TM2Space and Catalyx later this year.

I’m always happy to share more behind-the-scenes updates. so feel free to message me directly.