DARMSTADT, GERMANY and PLEASANTON, CA -- TE Connectivity (NYSE: TEL), a world industry leader in connectivity solutions, and PowerbyProxi, developer of the world's most advanced and safest wireless power system, announced a new partnership combining TE's history and market position in the industrial connector space with PowerbyProxi's expertise and intellectual property in wireless power. PowerbyProxi also announced it has closed a $5 million Series C funding round. TE has taken an equity stake in PowerbyProxi and existing investor, New Zealand venture capital firm, Movac, also participated in the round.
"Our proven innovation and miniaturization in the field of wireless power transfer was compelling to TE and we are excited to work with the TE team on the future of wireless power " said Greg Cross, Executive Chairman of PowerbyProxi. "This new round of investment demonstrates faith in the growth of this sector and the milestones we have achieved. We will use the funds to grow our international sales and customer support structures and to accelerate the development of new technology platforms," said Cross.
TE Partnership Creates Innovation
The first outcome of PowerbyProxi's partnership with TE is the ARISO Contactless Connectivity Platform, a miniaturized contactless connectivity solution, small enough to be easily integrated into new applications for industrial machinery and equipment. The new line of non-contact couplers, being sold and marketed by TE, incorporates PowerbyProxi's Proxi-Wave technology, which is ideal for miniaturization. The platform offers the smallest footprint solution available for contactless power connectivity on manufacturing machinery and equipment for sensor and control applications.
TE is now manufacturing evaluation kits so its customers can test the hardware in their own environments, alongside TE's field engineers. The ARISO Contactless Connectivity system is 70% smaller than currently available systems and brings the possibility of wireless power transfer to applications where it was previously considered impossible.
"Our investment in PowerbyProxi highlights our commitment to contactless connectivity and to the development of solutions to help our customers with their power connection needs," said Ulrich Wallenhorst, chief technology officer of TE Industrial. "PowerbyProxi possesses innovative design capabilities in wireless power transmission that complement the TE Know How and technologies, resulting in a proven working partnership. We look forward to working together on expanding current products and developing new solutions."
The ARISO Contactless Connectivity platform was introduced at the Electronica and SPS/IPC/Drives trade fairs in Germany in November 2012.
About PowerbyProxi
PowerbyProxi has developed the world's most advanced and safest wireless power system. We give consumer electronics and industrial product designers the freedom to wirelessly transfer efficient power in the most difficult places: from a miniaturized receiver inside a AA battery to a mission critical solution in the demanding and hostile environment of a wind turbine control system. PowerbyProxi has worked with customers on over 50 real world projects and built its deep technical know-how by initially focusing on complex industrial applications. We have also created the first commercial wireless recharging system capable of 3D power transfer, regardless of how the device is positioned in the recharging unit. PowerbyProxi is a spin-out of the University of Auckland's world-leading engineering department and holds an unrivaled patent portfolio with 122 patents issued worldwide.
About TE Connectivity
TE Connectivity (NYSE: TEL) is a $13 billion world leader in connectivity. The company designs and manufactures products at the heart of electronic connections for the world's leading industries including automotive, energy and industrial, broadband communications, consumer devices, healthcare, and aerospace and defense. TE Connectivity's long-standing commitment to innovation and engineering excellence helps its customers solve the need for more energy efficiency, always-on communications and ever-increasing productivity. With nearly 90,000 employees in over 50 countries, TE Connectivity makes connections the world relies on to work flawlessly every day.