Energous CEO Explains Dialog Semi's New $15 Million Investment, How Synergies Will Work

Shares of Energous Corp WATT are up about 8 percent since June 28, largely driven by an announcement that Dialog Semiconductor PLC DLGNF is investing an additional $15 million in the company.

Dialog Semi, which had already invested $10 million in Energous last year, will continue to be the exclusive component supplier of its over-the-air WattUp charging technology. In exchange, Energous not only gets additional financing, but also continued access to Dialog’s extensive distribution and sales channels, which are fundamental for the advancement of its go-to-market strategy, Energous CEO Stephen Rizzone said recently.

Interested in what this new $15 million investment entails, Rizzone shared some additional details this week.

Related Link: Energous CEO Presents 9 Wirelessly-Charging Products

The new investment "strengthens our balance sheet and provides us with additional working capital," which will be used for general corporate purposes, Rizzone told Benzinga. "Additionally, it deepens the strategic relationship between Energous and Dialog and is a testament to Dialog’s belief in our innovation and technology."

So, how will Energous' technology combine with Dialog's technology, and what are the synergies?

"Dialog is the world’s leader in Bluetooth, so it was a natural fit to partner with them given that we use Bluetooth to communicate between transmitters and receivers," Rizzone said. "We also utilize their power management IC (PMIC) and AC/DC conversion for our technology. As we mentioned in the past, a vast majority of our customers are also Dialog customers, and partnering with them allows us to leverage their broad sales and distribution channels to accelerate market adoption."

Rizzone also gave a brief update on some other commercial products and when they'll hit the market.

"We anticipate our first customers to begin shipping products bundled with Near Field transmitters by the end of 2017 and at least one customer product enabled with a Mid Field transmitter to ship before the end of the year as well," Rizzone said. "Recently, we received FCC approval for our updated Near Field transmitter technology and we also anticipate receiving formal approval for the Mid Field transmitter technology soon."

Image Credit: Javier Hasse