The company was established by
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) professor
Marin Soljačić in 2007. The MIT
spin-off is based in
Watertown, Massachusetts. In 2014, WiTricity joined the
Alliance for Wireless Power (A4WP), which later merged with the
Power Matters Alliance to form the AirFuel Alliance. Morris Kesler is
chief technology officer (CTO). The company is a member of the
Wireless Power Consortium. In 2017, WiTricity began focusing on charging systems for
electric vehicles more than consumer technology products.
Audi,
Mahle GmbH, and
Mitsubishi were among the partnering companies. In 2018, WiTricity was named a New Energy Pioneer by Bloomberg New Energy Finance. The company acquired the assets and
intellectual property rights of
Qualcomm Halo and its
inductive charging technology in February 2019; the deal included more than 1,000
patents and
patent applications, as well as technology designs and licenses, and made Qualcomm a minority owner of WiTricity. The lawsuit resulted in the invalidation of six of the asserted patents, and WiTricity filed a second infringement suit in March 2023.
Funding Prior to Toyota's investment in 2011, WiTricity had raised approximately $15 million. By April 2013, WiTricity had received approximately $45 million in funding. In 2020, WiTricity completed a $34 million round led by Stage 1 Ventures with additional participation by Air Waves Wireless Electricity and Mitsubishi subsidiary Mitsubishi Corporation (Americas). The round was extended for an additional $18 million raised in January 2021;
Tony Fadell was among the private investors and joined WiTricity's advisory board. In August 2022, WiTricity completed another round of funding raising $63 million. The round was led by
Siemens which invested $25 million and acquired a minority stake in the company earlier in June 2022.
Mirae Asset Capital and Japan Energy Fund joined the round along with few other returning investors. ==Technology==