Nuvola YC Application

Winter 2017Active

Nuvola went through Y Combinator in the Winter 2017 batch as a Industrials company. Below: what the company does, who founded it, and its application to YC, reconstructed question by question in the real YC form.

YC batch: Winter 2017
Industry: IndustrialsEnergy
Team size: 4
Status: Active
Launched: 2016

Founders

Janet HurFounder
Leland SmithFounder

What Nuvola does

At Nuvola, we're commercializing SafeCoat, a spray-on separator that is directly deposited onto electrodes, removing the need for conventional separator films and the massive infrastructure to build them. SafeCoat has been piloted with top-tier battery and automotive manufacturers and is ready for commercial deployment. Industry leaders are drawn to its impact: it reduces fire risk by 99%, cuts manufacturing scrap by 70%, and saves $350M per 40GWh factory. Our capital-light model requires just $8M in CAPEX to reach profitability in 2027.

Nuvola's YC application, reconstructed

Y Combinator application

Nuvola, Winter 2017 batch. The real form questions, answered from public data.

Founders2
Company7
Progress7
Idea4
Equity3
Curious2
Batch Preference1

Company

Company name

Nuvola

Describe what your company does in 50 characters or less.

Spray-on battery separator technology

What is your company going to make? Please describe your product and what it does or will do.

We make SafeCoat, a spray-on separator for EV batteries that replaces traditional separator films. It is sprayed directly onto electrodes, reducing fire risk and scrap while simplifying manufacturing.

Where do you live now, and where would the company be based after YC?

We live in Los Angeles and the company is based here.

Explain your decision regarding location.

Los Angeles has strong access to energy and automotive manufacturing partners and a growing cleantech ecosystem that supports our industrial customers.

21 more answers in the full application

Founders, Progress, Idea, Equity, Curious, Batch Preference are in the full version. Create a free account to open it in YC Insights, next to every other YC batch.

See full application

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this the real Nuvola YC application?

No. Y Combinator keeps submitted applications private. This is a reconstruction: the real YC form questions, answered from Nuvola's public data (launch notes, founder backgrounds, product description). It shows how a company like Nuvola would present itself to YC, not the text they submitted.