In January, NuCurrent - the Chicago-based leader in wireless charging technology - participated in the Illinois Corporate/Startup Challenge, a state initiative to get emerging startups in front of local enterprises, like Walgreens and Deere, in order to help facilitate large-scale deals and collaboration.
The first round of pitches was held in Lisle, Illinois at the headquarters of Molex Industries, a multi-billion-dollar manufacturer of electronic connectors.
Nearly 11 months after the Challenge, Molex announced today that it has become a strategic partner with and an investor in NuCurrent. Through the partnership, Molex expands its wireless power antenna capabilities by leveraging NuCurrent's technology to increase performance and efficiency.
“Wireless device charging has the potential to drastically change how the world powers its phones and other portable devices and Molex is thrilled to be involved in the early stages of this emerging technology,” said Lily Yeung, Director of Business Development with Molex.
NuCurrent, on the other hand, will tap into Molex's tech commercialization expertise to accelerate production of its products and deliver more customer-driven projects.
Explained Jacob Babcock, Founder and CEO of NuCurrent, "Being able to tap into the engineering expertise at Molex, as well as the global reach of its manufacturing capabilities and sales force, will be an enormous benefit for NuCurrent. The evolution of our company has been incredibly exciting and we look forward to the future as we partner with Molex to expand the reach of our innovative solutions."
In 2013, Molex was acquired by Koch Industries - the second largest privately held company in the United Stated - for $7 billion.
In October, NuCurrent, a startup founded in 2009 out of Northwestern, announced a $3.48 million Series A, led by Independence Equity, Hyde Park Angels, and Harvard Business School Angels. At the time, CEO Jacob Babcock said that “Since founding NuCurrent, a variety of companies have validated our technology and selected it for inclusion in their products and this financing enables us to leverage the technological strength and focus on increasing market penetration.”
Molex's investment marks another, significant validation for this thriving startup.
