The Eye: Tesla’s purchase of SiILion confirmed

Welcome to The Eye, a BizWest column featuring the latest scuttlebutt around the region. This feature will be published whenever The Eye spies things of interest to our readers. Have an idea for The Eye? Email news@bizwest.com.

LOUISVILLE — Rumors have circulated for some time that Tesla Inc. might have acquired local battery startup SiILion Inc., but neither Tesla nor SiILion would confirm the rumors.

But The Eye has spied several governmental filings that indicate that a purchase did indeed occur.

First, Electrive.com, a news service for the electric-mobility industry, reported that a recent filing with the European Patent Office makes the connection, listing SiILion founders Tyler Evans and Daniela Molina Piper as the inventors of a “Large-Format Battery Anodes Comprising Silicon Particles,” but with Tesla as the applicant.

Additionally, a recent Change of Entity Address filing with the Colorado Secretary of State lists SiILion’s current location as 1772 Prairie Way in Louisville, a shift from the company’s previous address in Broomfield.

The Eye called up the Louisville address on the Boulder County Assessor’s website, and who is listed at that address? None other than Tesla Inc.

But the ultimate confirmation comes in a 10k filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, where Tesla included an exhibit listing its subsidiaries, including SiILionInc.

With the acquisition, Tesla stands poised to integrate SiILion’s anode technology with its Tesla 4680 cells, Electrive reports.

And the company appears to be hiring locally, with a series of recent job postings for positions in Louisville, including associate cell technician, cell technician, mechanical engineer – cell engineering, process development associate engineer and senior cell engineer.

Big Tech companies often have come into the local market through acquisitions of startups [think Google buying SketchUp in Boulder and Apple buying Akonia Holographics in Longmont].

Will Tesla also expand its tech presence locally beyond this one acquisition? Time — and The Eye — will tell.

Famed chef Brian Lockwood takes up residency at Basta

BOULDER — The Eye spies Chef Brian Lockwood, who has cooked in famed kitchens such

as Eleven Madison Park and The French Laundry, returning to his native Boulder for a fall residency at Basta.

Lockwood will offer a nightly Israeli-inspired menu through December with proceeds supporting Sophie’s Neighborhood, a charity founded by chef Hosea Rosenberg.

Austin’s coming to downtown Greeley?

GREELEY — Hot Corner Concepts, the Fort Collins-based restaurant group behind Austin’s American Grill, Comet Chicken, the Moot House and Big Al’s Burgers & Dogs, has set its sights on downtown Greeley, The Eye has learned.

Hot Corner owner Steve Taylor isn’t providing details — except to say, “sometime next summer” — but the restaurant appears to be considering a location — perhaps dubbed “Austin’s Homestead”  in the 55 Resort property under development at 1100 Eighth Ave.

It would be the latest coup for downtown Greeley, bringing another established restaurant chain to the resurging district.

Hall moves on from Broomfield

BROOMFIELD — John Hall came to Broomfield from nearby Westminster in October 2020, but The Eye sees that the economic-development veteran left his role as director of economic vitality and development in September.

Hall now spends his time running a private consulting firm, Community Economic Strategies LLC, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Hall had joined the Broomfield team after more than five years as director of economic development for Westminster. Prior to that, he served as economic-development and urban-renewal director for Parker, with an earlier stint as business-development officer in Westminster.

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