Keyssa was incubated at the high-speed laboratory at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Dr. Frank Chang, electrical engineering professor at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), began studying high-speed wireless electronic connections in 2008, when one of his students had the idea to research wireless interconnections at frequencies higher than those of traditional Wi-Fi networks. Traditional Wi-Fi channels used the 2.4 and 5.0 gigahertz (GHz) bands; the student wanted to study wireless interconnections at a 60 GHz band (Millimeter Wave – mmWave). Dr. Chang and the student thought the 60 GHz band would be the perfect technology for a new type of connector – a solid-state, wireless connector.
Keyssa’s early financing came from angel investors as well as a VC firm. The series C round came from a number of strategic investors (Intel and Samsung) including Foxconn. At the time of Foxconn’s investment in 2015, Dr. Chen was CO and CIO (Chief Investment Officer) for Hon Hai (Foxconn). Joe Nieh worked with Dr. Chen on Foxconn’s investments. Dr. Chen was also on the Board of Foxconn Internet Technology (FIT); FIT also participated in the Series C round.
Keyssa and Foxconn engaged in a number of strategic initiatives, including a high-speed storage application, a wireless connector for an 8K HDTV (the Keyssa link performed at 96 Gbps), and a wireless camera module.
After publicly announcing Kiss technology in 2014, Keyssa received dozens of requests from potential customers who were interested in learning more about this innovative new connector. While many of these companies were in the mobile, tablet, and PC industries, a number of the requests came from companies in completely unrelated industries.
Keyssa was acquired by Molex in 2021. Molex, owned by Koch Industries, is the third largest connector manufacturer with revenues of US$9.2 billion in 2021. In a press release issued in December of 2021, Molex communicated how this strategic investment will drive market momentum:
”Molex is ramping a team of more than 25 engineers in the U.S. and India to develop next-generation products based on this technology. Initially, the focus will be on the unique connectivity needs of high-volume mobile applications where contactless connectors offer potential benefits in design for manufacturing, serviceability, reliability, signal aggregation and security. Over time, Molex will apply this technology to address emerging application areas, encompassing smart factories, automotive advanced safety, medical robotics and more.”