For decades, the global electric motor industry has rested on an uncomfortable truth. Nearly every modern EV, industrial machine, robot, and automated system relies on permanent magnets made from rare-earth materials. These magnets, primarily neodymium-based, deliver high efficiency and torque density. But they also come with a hidden cost. More than 80% of rare-earth processing is concentrated in China. As EVs scale worldwide, this dependency has quietly turned into a structural vulnerability. Automakers and OEMs face volatile input prices. Supply chains swing with geopolitics. Manufacturing timelines hinge on mineral availability. The irony is that motors are everywhere, yet innovation around them has been slow. For years, permanent-magnet synchronous motors have been treated as a solved problem. Improvements focussed on packaging, power density, and cost optimisation, not architectural reinvention. There was little incentive to question magnets until disruptions forced the industry to confront its growing dependence. That reckoning is now underway, and Bengaluru-based deeptech startup Vimag Labs believes it has found a way out. Rather than trying to secure alternative sources of rare-earth materials, Vimag is attempting something far more radical — eliminating magnets from motors entirely. The Rare Earth Wake-Up Call Manish Kumar did not start out wanting to disrupt… Read MoreInc42 Media
