Stanford Scientists Create a Billionaire Factory Bloomberg 12/29/2020 Chris Bryant (Bloomberg Opinion) -- One of the most unsettling developments in business in 2020 was the trend for electric-vehicle companies to list on a stock exchange before they have their first revenues. Though standard practice for research-intensive life sciences companies, going public before you have a purchasable product is pretty unusual in the automotive world. And yet, pre-revenue companies such as Nikola Corp. and Fisker Inc. have achieved multi-billion dollar valuations. Now, Californian battery start-up QuantumScape Corp. has taken electric-vehicle mania to a new level. Founded by Stanford University scientists a decade ago, with financial backing from Volkswagen AG, QuantumScape became a public company in November after merging with Kensington Capital Acquisition Corp., a special-purpose acquisition company. The company won’t generate significant revenue until 2026, but it’s already valued at $43 billion, or $51 billion on a fully diluted basis.(1)