Drew Baglino Launches Innovative Heat Pump Startup Sadi Thermal Machines

TL;DR

• Drew Baglino, the former Tesla senior vice president, has quietly founded Sadi Thermal Machines, a heat pump startup based in Scotts Valley, California.
• The new venture appears to be Baglino’s second company since leaving Tesla, and it may leverage a deep bench of Tesla alumni and energy-tech expertise.
• If successful, Sadi could help accelerate the shift toward cleaner, more efficient heating systems at a time when heat pumps are becoming central to electrification efforts.

Drew Baglino's New Venture

Drew Baglino, one of Tesla’s most senior former energy executives, is making another move in clean tech. After leaving the automaker in 2024, Baglino has now founded Sadi Thermal Machines, a startup focused on heat pumps and thermal systems, according to company filings and people familiar with the business.

The company appears to be quietly building from Scotts Valley, California, where it shares an address with Heron Power, Baglino’s earlier startup centered on solid-state transformers. While Sadi Thermal Machines has stayed largely out of public view, the filings suggest it was formed in June 2025 and is already underway with a team that includes several Tesla alumni.

A New Bet on Heating Electrification

Heat pumps have become one of the most important technologies in the push to decarbonize buildings. Unlike traditional furnaces that generate heat by burning fuel, heat pumps move heat from one place to another, offering far better efficiency and lower emissions when powered by clean electricity.

That makes them a critical part of the broader renewable energy and electrification movement. If Sadi Thermal Machines is aiming to improve heat pump performance, reliability, or affordability, it could tap into a market that is still growing rapidly as governments, utilities, and consumers look for lower-carbon heating solutions.

Baglino’s move into this space is notable because of his background. At Tesla, he spent nearly two decades working on some of the company’s most important energy systems, including the Roadster, Powerwall, Powerpack, electric motors, batteries, and power electronics. That experience gives him a rare mix of hardware, systems engineering, and large-scale energy product development.

Why Baglino’s Move Matters

Baglino’s departure from Tesla in April 2024 was seen by many as the end of an era. He had risen to senior vice president, overseeing core energy technologies at the company. Since then, he has been steadily building a new identity outside Tesla through Heron Power and now Sadi Thermal Machines.

For the clean-tech industry, his new startup is significant for two reasons. First, it reflects continued investor and founder interest in hardware-heavy climate technologies, despite the long development cycles and manufacturing challenges involved. Second, it underscores how much attention heat pumps are drawing as the building sector comes under pressure to reduce emissions.

Heat pumps are already a major part of the energy transition conversation in Europe, North America, and parts of Asia. Improvements in cold-weather performance, installation simplicity, and cost could accelerate adoption further. A startup led by an executive with Tesla-scale engineering credentials could help push that market forward.

A Quiet Startup With Big Ambitions

So far, Sadi Thermal Machines has been discreet. There has been little public marketing, no major product announcement, and no clear disclosure of funding. But the company’s name offers a clue to its ambitions: it appears to reference Sadi Carnot, the French physicist whose work helped lay the foundation for modern thermodynamics and the theory behind heat engines and heat pumps.

That naming choice suggests a company that wants to position itself as technically serious and deeply rooted in energy science. It also signals that Sadi may be aiming beyond a simple appliance play. Startups in this category often focus on a combination of hardware design, thermal controls, software optimization, and manufacturing efficiency.

If Baglino can translate Tesla-style iteration and system-level thinking into the heating sector, Sadi could become an influential player in a market that is still fragmented and ripe for innovation.

The Bigger Picture for Sustainable Heating

The rise of heat pump startups comes as the world looks for practical ways to cut emissions without sacrificing comfort or reliability. Heating remains one of the largest sources of energy use in homes and commercial buildings, and in many regions it still depends heavily on fossil fuels.

That creates a major opportunity for companies that can make heat pumps cheaper, more effective in extreme temperatures, and easier to install at scale. The challenge is not just inventing better hardware, but building trust with consumers, contractors, and utilities.

Baglino’s track record at Tesla could give Sadi a head start in attracting talent and attention. Tesla alumni have long been active in the climate-tech ecosystem, founding and joining startups across EVs, batteries, grid infrastructure, and now heating.

What to Watch Next

The key questions now are whether Sadi Thermal Machines will emerge with a public product roadmap, raise outside capital, or disclose more about its technical focus. For now, the startup remains an early-stage bet, but one backed by a founder with a strong reputation in advanced energy systems.

If it succeeds, Sadi could help redefine what modern heating looks like in the age of electrification. And if Baglino’s earlier moves are any indication, this may be just the beginning of another ambitious clean-tech company built around the idea that major climate solutions can also be compelling engineering problems.

AndroGuider Team

Articles written by the AndroGuider team. We try to make them thorough and informational while being easy to read.