VIRGIN HYPERLOOP ONE

MB402- STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT PROJECT

 Project on

COMPANY PROFILE ANALYSIS OF

VIRGIN HYPERLOOP ONE

SUBMITTED FOR THE SUBJECT

MB 402 – STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT

TO
Prof. (Dr.) A. K. DASBISWAS

BY

Priyanka Das 20
Poushali Dutta 31
Santanu Mondal 49
Ron Prodhan 67
Vishal Roy 78
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We are indeed thankful for allowing Prof. (Dr.)

A.K. Dasbiswas, for allowing us to extend our
knowledge on the subject that he has taught, by
allowing us to work on this project. We did use
this opportunity to assess a new and upcoming
field of technology that is set to change the future
of transportation. This project has definitely been
a game changer for us.

Thanking you
 CONTENTS

TITLE Pg No.

INTRODUCTION 1

VISION MISSION 2

BALANCE SCORECARD 3

SWOT ANALYSIS 11

VALUE CHAIN ANALYSIS 16

7S FRAMEWORK MODEL 19

PORTER’S FIVE FORCES 23

BCG MATRIX 27

GE MATRIX 29

RECOMMENDATIONS 31

CONCLUSION 32
 INTRODUCTION

Hyperloop is a new mode of transportation that moves

freight and people quickly, safely, on-demand and direct
from origin to destination. Passengers or cargo are loaded
into the hyperloop vehicle and accelerate gradually via
electric propulsion through a low-pressure tube. The
vehicle floats above the track using magnetic levitation
and glides at airline speeds for long distances due to ultra-
low aerodynamic drag. Virgin Hyperloop One systems
will be built on columns or tunneled below ground to
avoid dangerous grade crossings and wildlife. It’s fully
autonomous and enclosed, eliminating pilot error and
weather hazards. It’s safe and clean, with no direct carbon
emissions.

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 VISION

Create fast, effortless journeys that expand possibilities

and eliminate the barriers of distance and time.

MISSION

Creation of a major new form of transport in 100 years,

especially one that is ultra-fast, on-demand, direct,
emission-free, energy efficient, quiet and has a smaller
footprint than other high-speed transport modes.

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 BALANCE SCORE CARD

LEARNING AND GROWTH:

Technology plays a major role in learning and growth.
Well, Virgin Hyperloop One is already working with the
next-gen technology Hyperloop.
What is a Hyperloop?
Hyperloop is a new mode of transportation that moves
cargo and people quickly, safely, from origin to
destination. Passengers or cargo are loaded into the
hyperloop vehicle and accelerate gradually via electric
propulsion through a low-pressure tube. The vehicle
floats above the track using magnetic levitation and glides
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at airline speeds for long distances due to ultra-low
aerodynamic drag.
The track will, either, be built on columns or tunnelled
below the ground. Basically, the track is a continuous
tube, which is fully autonomous and enclosed, eliminating
pilot error and weather hazards.
Thus, we will have the next-gen failure-proof autopilots
in place. Since no fuel is involved as it runs on electricity,
the technology is safe, clean with no direct Carbon
emissions.

INTERNAL BUSINESS PROCESSES:

This perspective deals with the organisational
performance viewed through the lenses of the quality and
efficiency of the product or services offered. The focus is
on reducing waste, speeding things up, doing more with
less, analysing and overcoming the obstacles between
new ideas and execution.
The only product/service provided by Virgin Hyperloop
One is an implemented Hyperloop transportation. The
competitors are high-speed trains and aeroplanes.
It is faster, as in two to three times faster than the fastest
high-speed rail and a little faster than the average
aeroplane. High-speed rail and traditional maglev trains
require power along the entire track. As a result, the track

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costs more to build and more to operate. Operation costs
of aeroplanes is also pretty high.
On the other hand, the Hyperloop is environment friendly,
with a smaller environmental impact, more efficient
energy consumption and no direct emissions or noise. It’s
less expensive and different technology: High-speed rail
and traditional maglev trains require power along the
entire track. As a result, the track costs more to build and
more to operate. Virgin Hyperloop One achieves better
performance for less cost.
CUSTOMER:
Virgin Hyperloop One is providing a new product/service
to the people. They will cater to the basic need to
commute between two distant places in very short amount
of time. The organisation is also working hard on the
passenger experience in the Hyperloop. They have
“affordability” of the new technology under consideration
and are working towards making the technology
affordable by the general people.

FINANCIAL:
Virgin Hyperloop One has had funding from numerous
stakeholders. The key investors include DP World,
Caspian VC Partners, Virgin Group, Sherpa Capital, Abu
Dhabi Capital Group, SNCF, GE Ventures, Formation 8,
137 Ventures, WTI, among others.

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The key partners include Virgin Group, Parsons, ARUP,
DP World, AECOM, Ramboll, McKinsey, KPMG, Foster
+ Partners, Systra, BIG, SNCF, GE, Deutsche Bahn,
Black & Veatch, and PA Consulting, among others.
EXPLAINING THE STRATEGY MAPPING
Learning and Growth perspective
Optimizing the Hyperloop and Encouraging Innovation
refers to improving the technology that governs the
Hyperloop, i.e. to reach higher top-speeds, to increase the
efficiency of the motor and propulsion system.
Optimizing Human Capital refers to consulting
exceptionally talented and experienced professionals and
encouraging them to come up with new ideas of operating
the components of the Hyperloop.
Internal Business Process
Carrying out error-free trials refer to doing everything
first-time right. Since most of the operations are
simulated before the trials, and very sensitive calculations
are involved due to high transitional speed through inter-
weaving electrical and magnetic fields, it is very
important for the engineers to consider the tiniest factors
and crosscheck every bit of the calculations to avoid any
erroneous trial. An erroneous trial will mean wastage of
time, efforts, and money.

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Building a network of stakeholders refer to building a
network of public and private partners to scale an
integrated supply chain ecosystem.
The business model is designed such that many local job
opportunities are created for those who choose to invest
in this technology.
Many approvals, formalities, permissions, sanctions have
to be obtained to start working on the routes in various
parts of the world. This requires association with the
highest level of Government authorities. The ecosystem
of partners and investors will surely be critical to design
and deliver the Hyperloop faster than anticipated.
Customer
Hyperloop needs to be safe and reliable for it to be
commercially viable. The Customer Safety and Customer
Experience are key factors to be kept in mind while
implementing the technology.
Safety should be the number-one priority and the
organisation should make sure to spend the necessary time
to further develop and test the technology. At every stage,
it should be ensured that the technology is safe, regulated
and intermodal. Since it is a very new technology, some
standards may not be pre-defined. In such cases, the
regulatory body should work very carefully in devising
new standards and regulations.

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In addition to passengers, the Hyperloop may be used to
transport cargo from one place to another.
Hyperloop must be ready to provide on-demand services
in case of national emergencies and assist the Indian
National Army.
Newer routes should be identified to implement the
Hyperloop such that people across the world can utilise
the next-gen tech.
Financial
In providing all the solutions, the company should stand
to profit from its operations in order to keep the investors
and partners happy.
To expand its network across various countries and cities,
it is of high importance to strike commercial agreements
between the authorities and the organisation.
As a duty towards the environment and society, Virgin
Hyperloop One should find out ways to use renewable
sources of energy to run its Hyperloop. It should work on
new ways to reduce the energy and power consumption
required to operate the Hyperloop. Thus, using Renewable
sources of energy will contribute to reducing expenditure
on power and hence generate more revenue.

MEASURES

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The final building blocks of a balanced scorecard are
measures. Every strategic objective should have one or
two things that you measure to determine how it is
performing. These measures need goals and should be
measured on a regular schedule.
-Innovating ideas and optimizing the technology requires
testing and analysing the results extensively. Virgin
Hyperloop One, based in Los Angeles, began testing here
in 2017 and is now doing so with a full-scale test track,
which is 1,640-foot-long, 11-foot-high tube has been used
for hundreds of runs, with an empty pod that in one test
accelerated to 240 m.p.h.
-It is estimated that the top speed for a passenger vehicle
or light cargo will be 670 miles per hour or 1080
kilometers per hour and the transit is fully noiseless- only
a whoosh.
-Virgin Hyperloop One has developed a proprietary
electric propulsion system. which was tested first in May
2016 in an open-air propulsion test and again in a number
of test campaigns at our full-scale test site.
-Virgin Hyperloop One is very energy-agnostic. Their
system can draw power from whichever energy sources
are available along the route. If that means solar and
wind, then the entire system is 100% carbon free.
-Virgin Hyperloop One has received a funding of $295
million from its investors and partners around the world.

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-Virgin Hyperloop One aims to have operational systems
in the mid 2020s
-Riding the Hyperloop One will be the same as riding in
an elevator or a passenger plane. The systems will
accelerate with the same tolerable G forces as that of
taking off in a Boeing 747. There has been more efforts
to eliminate the G-forces even more. There will be no
turbulence.
To avoid making anyone sick, the system would take three
minutes to accelerate to that speed, and the train would
need to travel six miles to turn 90 degrees.
To keep the structural integrity of the near-vacuum tube,
there will be no windows. There are ideas to show
external simulations or that showing advertisements and
providing other services to travellers could provide
additional income that would hold down fares.

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 SWOT ANALYSIS

>Strengths

Reduced travel time This is a no-brainer. With average

speeds of 970 kmph and top speeds of 1200 kmph,
distances could be covered in minutes. So if one considers
the average speeds these are the travel times we are
looking at between multiple cities: Bengaluru -
Thiruvananthapuram approximately 45 mins; Chennai -
Bengaluru approximately 21 mins; Mumbai - Chennai
approximately 80 mins; Mumbai - Delhi 85 mins and so
on.
Reduced friction and drag Since the Hyperloop will be
using pneumatic pods and operating under reduced air
pressure, there would be a significant reduced friction and
air drag. This is a factor that has to be taken into
consideration on all the other modes of transport. This
means, more efficient use of energy, and less of it lost to
overcoming air drag.
Less area as compared to other transport projects From
the mock up plans we have seen from Hyperloop One and
other companies, we are looking at elevated, concealed
tubes which will transport the compartment pod which
will have the passengers. It will require concrete pylons
at short intervals. When compared with the infrastructure

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and land area required for railway stations and airports
(we are not considering bus stations, as buses are not
competition), the Hyperloop could definitely offer better
value proposition over time.

>Weaknesses

Safety and security This is by far the biggest weakness.

We are talking about a transportation system that is
elevated and involves very high speeds inside low air-
pressure tubes. Unlike bullet trains, jets which have past
precedents such as a regular train or a commercial
aeroplane, the Hyperloop has no resemblance with any
means of transportation from our present or past. Unless
we see actual implementation, that fear of the unknown
will raise at large.
Higher initial ticket costs While companies are claiming
that ticketing would not be a major revenue generator for
them, as they would be looking at other business models,
for all practical purposes there will be a ticket charge to
travel in those pods. For the initial few years, the cost of
a ticket may be significantly higher than an airfare or a
train fare. It will definitely take some time for this mode
of transport to get mainstream and prices to come to sane
levels. Hyperloop One's former chairman Richard
Branson has stated though that their Mumbai - Pune

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project will be for the masses and not necessarily a
premium priced service.
Land acquisition Since, the area required for the
Hyperloop project will be less considered as an elevated
platform, land acquisition still remains a sticky subject in
India. To get an optimal route, if the Hyperloop networks
runs through your backyard, then not many people may
like that fact.
Bends or turns could slow it down It is very difficult to
visualise bends or turns in a Hyperloop route, as that
would automatically mean getting the speed of travel of
the pods down. Finding a route that goes without any
bends would be a major weakness area.

>Opportunities

Decongestion of cities Job opportunities and slow

transportation have led to a lot of migration in cities. This
has reached a point that travelling from point A to point
B in a city is a pain, thanks to the traffic situations.
Increasing population in cities also puts a stress on the
infrastructure, something people living in Mumbai, Delhi,
Bangalore and other metros are well aware of. But if there
is a mode of transportation which cuts down on travel
time, then the distance between your residence and work

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place will matter little. Cities will definitely see some
decongestion as travel time will significantly come down.
Clean technology could get a boost Hyperloop could
certainly give a boost to the clean energy technology
movement. According to studies, since its track has
electrified the transport system consumes little amount of
energy as compared to high-speed rails that require
significantly higher energy which is subsidised by the
state. The companies are planning to produce 20% more
energy than it can consume.
Boost in the logistics sector A faster and more frequent
hyperloop-enabled supply chain gives each warehouse
extra range and enables faster movement of goods over
longer distances. This can shrink inventory lead times and
help reduce finished goods inventory and cut required
warehouse space and cost by 25% leading to healthier
bottom lines.

>Threats

Bullet trains Even though infrastructure and investment-

wise high-speed railway networks and bullet trains may
be expensive, there are already things under way to ensure
that they come to India before the Hyperloop. Optimal use
of existing railway network could also enable speeding

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the process. In terms of carrying capacity, one train can
transport more people than say one Hyperloop pod.
Cheaper air tickets Airfare has a dynamic pricing and
considering there is so much competition, airfares can
also get cheaper in the future. There are already talks
about making air travel affordable for the masses.
Affordable airlines such as could make air travel even
more affordable, if they were to come to India, thereby
bypassing the need to pay a premium for saving time.

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 VALUE CHAIN ANALYSIS

PRIMARY ACTIVITIES

Production-
The company works on creation of core proprietary
technology. It has dedicated machine shops for
production of the Hyperloop One infrastructural systems
in US.

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Partnerships-
Creation of Partnerships with various organisation and
also with the Governments helps in easy market
penetration. This helps in boosting employment which is
a prime need of most of the country.

Deployment-
The Hyperloop requires an infrastructural setup dubbed
as the DevLoop by the company which is the initial phase
to start construction. This is done locally and local
partnerships are fostered in the process. The technology
is imported.

Feasibility Studies-
The DevLoop of Hyperloop One is primarily used to make
the technology economical and ensure that the regulatory
framework is met.

Expansion-
The company is focusing on expansion of the operations
and elongating tracks across various routes in the
countries in which it is working.

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SUPPORT ACTIVITIES

Investments-
The company is currently being backed by investments as
full-fledged operations have not been launched.

Global Teams-
Hyperloop One looks for manpower locally which greatly
reduces the maintenance costs and developmental costs.

Research and Development-

True to its commitment, the company is always directed
towards making the project for the common man.

Partners-
The company looks forward to generation of partnerships.
One such partnership is the DP World Cargospeed. This
is helping Hyperloop One to co create the technology
exclusively for Supply Chain and Logistics.

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 7S FRAMEWORK MODEL

Structure-
Company follows a hybrid structure, similar to a think
tank with a number of teams located at various onsite
locations.
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Strategy-
The company isn’t just building a hyperloop; but building
a network of public and private partners to scale an
integrated supply chain ecosystem. Traditionally,
transportation has been very vertically integrated. The
business model is based on partnerships that create local
jobs and opportunities for those who choose to invest in
this technology.
The partner ecosystem will be critical to designing our
systems and introducing Virgin Hyperloop One
technology to the world faster than we could alone. The
company management is simultaneously working at the
highest level of governments around the globe and with a
consortium of ecosystem partners and investors to put in
place commercial agreements to make hyperloop a reality.

Systems-
The organisations has two broad and distinct way of
operations. The company works on creation of core
proprietary technology and deployment of that technology
at the right place appropriately. There are different teams
for carrying out the operations and are spread across the
globe and they are primarily responsible for carrying out
feasibility studies and deploying the technology. There is

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a central team which looks into developing the
technology.

Skills-
The organisation has professionals who primarily focus
on designing the pod for the hyperloop. This includes
professionals who design the structure of pod as well as
biomedical impact of the pod on the passengers. The
company is also trying to reduce the energy requirement
of hyperloop system separately by studying the scope of
generating renewable energy from the pipeline structure.

Staff-
The company has 280 employees working across the
globe. The company focusses on creation of test facilities
across the world for onsite testing of the technology with
partnership support. Hence, there are a number of
employees indirectly engaged to the organisation.

Style-
The top management puts focus on a few key areas, one
of them is tying up with the government for deployment
of the technology. It is also partnering with various
logistics player and port operators, largest one being DP

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World. Apart from this there are autonomous teams which
focus on deploying the technology.

Shared vision-
Development of transportation system that has ultra-fast,
on-demand, direct, emission-free, energy efficient, quiet
and has a smaller footprint than other high-speed
transport modes.

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 PORTER’S FIVE FORCES

Porters five forces is a model that identifies and analyzes

five competitive forces that shape every industry and
helps determine and industry’s weaknesses and strengths.

KEY TAKEAWAYS :
Porter’s five forces is a framework for analyzing
company’s competitive environment.
The number and power of a company’s competitive rival,
potential new market new entrants,
Suppliers, customers and substitute products influence a
company’s profitability.
Analyzing these elements can be used to guide business
strategy to increase competitive advantage.
The forces are frequently used to measure competition
intensity, attractiveness and profitability of an industry or
market. Those forces are :
 Competition in the industry.
 Potential of new entrants in the industry.
 Power of suppliers.
 Power of customers.
 Threat of substitute products.
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1.Competitors in the industry :
Hyperloop transportation technologies Arrivo (Los
Angeles, California, United States), The prominent
players in the market of hyperloop technology are- Space
Exploration Technologies Corporation (U.S.), Virgin
Hyperloop One (U.S.), Hyperloop Transportation
Technologies (U.S.), TransPod (Canada), Dinclix
GroundWorks Global Limited (India), Arrivo (U.S.),
Hardt Global Mobility (The Netherlands), Hyper Chariot
(U.S.), Zeleros (Spain).
A number of firms are competing to be the first to realize
Musk's vision.
As well as Hyperloop One and HTT, another notable
organization engaged in designing systems is Transpod,
which is aiming to build a computer-controlled system
that operates at more than 1,000km/h.
Alongside these efforts, the Evacuated Tube Transport
Technologies (ET3) Global Alliance represents a
consortium of organizations that have been working on
realizing a system similar to Hyperloop since the late
1990s. Unlike the near-supersonic travel plans of the
other vacuum-tube travel firms, ET3 is seeking to create
a network of smaller pods that travel at about 375 mph.
The group wants to build a tube network for a tenth of the
cost of high-speed rail and a quarter of the cost of a
freeway.
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And despite Musk saying he initially didn't have time to
develop a Hyperloop system, he has since created a
Hyperloop division within SpaceX. To help spur on
progress, the firm has launched the Hyperloop Pod
Competition, which tasks competitors with designing a
prototype pod for a Hyperloop test system. In summer
2018 a team of competitors from the Technical University
of Munich accelerated a Hyperloop pod to 290mph on a
1.2km-long test track.

2.Potential Of New Entrants in the Industry :

An industry with strong barriers to entry is an attractive
feature of companies that allows them to charge higher
prices and negotiate better terms. The average speed that
these Hyper Loop pods are expected to achieve is 970kph
with a top speed of 1200kph.This brings with its promise
of covering long distance in matter of minutes. Hyperloop
One is backed by funding and has fostered partnerships
across many countries. In addition to this it is a
proprietary technology and therefore, new entrants will
face a severe barrier.

3.Power of Suppliers :
Hyperloop technically has no suppliers. It is proprietary
technology where different players are developing the
technology and system indigenously. Therefore, Virgin

25
Hyperloop One builds its own components and deploys it
onsite and tests it.
4. Bargaining power of buyers :
Virgin Hyperloop One was the first player to ink
partnerships with various governments and logistic
players. Moreover, Hyperloop One is different from other
transportation means as all integral components required
for the transportation system like the pipeline structure
and vehicle itself is proprietary to the company. It is same
for all rivals also. The company does provide additional
advantage owing to it’s strategic partnerships which
allows partners to co-develop their Hyperloop One
locally.
5.Threat of substitutes :
Hyperloop One has got an early mover advantage and it
being an infrastructural project, cannot be substituted
easily.
Virgin Hyper Loop market segmentation :
Market By Components
High speed wheels
Air bearings
Magnetic levitation
Others
Market By Geography

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 BCG MATRIX

The global hyperloop technology market was valued at

USD 1,870 million in 2022, and is anticipated to register
a CAGR of about 23.25% during the forecast period (2022
– 2030).

As of 2018, Virgin Hyperloop One has 41% market share.

It has contracted with the governments of various
countries as given below.

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28
 GE MATRIX

Key Market Attractiveness factors: -

There are two big differences between Hyperloop and
tradition rail. The pods carrying passengers travel through
tubes or tunnels from which most of the air has been
removed to reduce friction. This should allow the pods to
travel at up to 750 miles per hour.
Rather than using wheels like a train or car, the pods are
designed to float on air skis, using the same basic idea as
an air hockey table, or use magnetic levitation to reduce
friction. A few number of different companies are
working to turn the idea into a functioning commercial
system.
Supporters argue that Hyperloop could be cheaper and
faster than trains and car travel, and cheaper and less
polluting than air travel. They claim that it is quicker and
cheaper to build than traditional high-speed rail; as such,
Hyperloop could take the pressure off gridlocked roads,
making travel between cities easier and potentially
unlocking major economic benefits as a result.

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Primary Constraints: -
The approach till now for every company is to tie up with
Governments of various countries. Hyperloop marketing
approach is till now B2G model and hence bigger players
are going to lead as in case of Virgin Hyperloop One.
Moreover, it is a race of technology where every player is
competing with efficient design, therefore, capital and
Intellectual property is important.

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 RECOMMENDATIONS

The company should focus on developing its existing

technology. Since the Hyperloop market is in first
generation of development, a lot of avenue is available
for growth. Some of them being intermediate loop
branches, undersea loop layout for intercontinental travel
and efficiency modification. Company is following the
right approach for ensuring the growth.

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 CONCLUSION

It’s faster, as in two to three times faster than the fastest

high-speed rail. It’s on-demand and direct. Trains follow
a schedule and typically have multiple stops. Hyperloop
leaves when you’re ready to go, and pods can depart up
to several times per minute and can transport passengers
and cargo direct to their destination with no stops along
the way. It’s environmentally friendly, with a smaller
environmental impact, more efficient energy consumption
and no direct emissions or noise. It’s less expensive and
different technology: High-speed rail and traditional
maglev trains require power along the entire track. As a
result, the track costs more to build and more to operate.
Virgin Hyperloop One achieves better performance for
less cost.

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THANK

YOU