A technology company that promises to revolutionise the way parcels are delivered is now looking to the public for its latest round of funding.
Magway, which first launched in 2017, is currently working on its horizontal track at its test facility in Wembley, London before adding vertical and switched tracks. The company aims to carry freight at speed along through a network of 1m diameter utility pipes. This, it says, will enable organisations to move goods between distribution hubs without using delivery vehicles, and helping to reduce the carbon emissions associated with road transport. In time, it says, the system will be able to connect inner city hubs and regional centres and could even carry freight across international borders and to remote rural areas.
Magway has previously described its technology as using linear synchronous magnetic motors to generate a magnetic wave of electrical current. That current propels a number of standard-sized totes along a track at an ideal speed of 31mph, travelling milliseconds apart through a network of existing and new underground, overground and suspended pipes.
Now it is looking for further investment of £750,000 via Crowdcube in order to grow, scale its technology and hire more staff to a team that has grown by 200% in six months as it moves into a phase of expansion.
“If we are to successfully fight climate change, we must continue building a movement of likeminded people who want to help create a greener, better world. That is why we are now offering you the opportunity to join us on our mission with Crowdcube,” says John Hughes, executive chairman of Magway.
“Four years since Magway first launched, our vision of revolutionising parcel delivery is now a reality. This round of investment will cement the next stage of our growth and accelerate commercial expansion.”
Rupert Cruise, co-founder and technical director of Magway, says: “Magway is pushing open new frontiers of what is possible thanks to linear and motor control technology. Reaching net-zero requires technological ambition and innovative thinking. From continual improvement of track performance based on real-time data collection to streamlining carriage design and 3D modelling, our team is making breakthroughs every day to accelerate Magway’s development and broaden its potential.”
Magway says it has turned over £1m since the second quarter of 2021 as it develops its first commercial deployment for a Fortune Global 500 company. It says its sales pipeline of contracts is valued at £98m. Its technology was showcased at Cop-26, the UN’s recent conference of the parties to the Paris climate change agreement, in Glasgow.
“Whilst our technology is impressive, it’s people that sit at the heart of Magway,” says Phill Davies, co-founder and commercial director of Magway. “At our core, we are a team of innovators bringing diverse experience from cutting-edge businesses and sectors including Formula 1, Amazon, Apple, Jaguar Land Rover and aviation to name just a few. Magway has built itself from an idea, into a people-led, sustainable business that is now set to revolutionise the way goods are delivered. We are a passionate and determined team, and with our focus on providing sustainable and efficient deliveries, we are preparing to double headcount again over 2022.”
Magway has previously been recognised through the New Civil Engineer TechFest Awards, and reached the later stages of Heathrow’s Centre of Excellence Innovation Prize and the Singapore-based SlingShot 2019 Top100 Global Startups in Asia awards.
