A Bengaluru startup called Vimag Labs just secured its fifth Indian patent for an electric motor that runs without any rare-earth magnets, using software and power electronics to generate its magnetic field instead.

It’s a small, $5-million company taking a swing at a problem that has stumped Tesla, GM, and every major automaker for years: how to build a competitive EV motor that doesn’t depend on China.

For a mega-refinery in Ulsan, South Korea, a top exporter of jet fuel to the West Coast of the United States and other places, weaning off Middle Eastern oil is no small feat.

© Chang W. Lee/The New York Times

They make much of the gear that goes into giant data centers. Demand for their products is shifting the balance of tech power.