Kymeta, a start-up based in Redmond, Washington, has closed a $12 million funding round to develop and bring to market Metamaterials Surface Antenna Technology (MSA-T). The company was incubated by Intellectual Ventures and is backed by investments from Bill Gates, Liberty Global and Lux Capital.
Kymeta says its mTenna product line will simplify the satellite connection needed for broadband Internet on the go, anywhere in the world. The company uses metamaterials to manipulate electromagnetic radiation to electronically point and steer a radio signal toward a satellite. The technology could be used to maintain a continuous broadband link between a satellite and a moving platform such as an aircraft, car or boat. The metamaterials could be manufactured using established lithographic techniques.
"Metamaterials were an early focus for IV, so the spinout of Kymeta marks an important milestone in our invention work," said Casey Tegreene, executive vice president and chief patent counsel at IV. "As groundbreaking as it is, the satellite antenna technology behind Kymeta only scratches the surface of what metamaterials can do. Thanks to nearly a decade of work with scientists like Sir John Pendry of Imperial College and Professor David Smith of Duke University, we have a portfolio of metamaterials inventions that cover a variety of industries and applications."
Kymeta also plans to develop a portable, laptop-sized satellite hotspot product for individual users. http://www.kymetacorp.com
- Kymeta is the second company to spin out of Intellectual Ventures. The first, TerraPower, was created in 2008 to develop a new class of nuclear reactor.
