Fortune 500 company Sumitomo Corporation recently revealed on its website that it has invested in Origin Wireless in pursuit of 5G integration. Sumitomo is expected to improve Origin’s technology, as well as expand its product line. The venture was done through Sumitomo Corporation of Americas (SCOA) to expand the firm’s suite of Smart Life services.
According to Tak Niki, head of SCOA Silicon Valley office, this investment is the beginning of a “strategic partnership.” Niki emphasized origin’s success in Wi-Fi integration as the reason for Sumitomo’s deal with the wireless sensing tech developer.
Niki, who is also the general manager for SCIA’s Media and Digital Group, said that Sumitomo is “looking forward to being strong partners – and even customers – as they continue to progress and find new ways to utilize this powerful technology.”
Origin Wireless is known for transforming devices with Wi-Fi into sensors with its AITM algorithms. The patented algorithm uses Wi-Fi signals “to gain unprecedented visibility of an indoor environment.” This is seen as a great innovation in wireless connectivity as it enables the detection of even the smallest movement.
Aside from its algorithms, the company is also recognized for its suite of solutions namely Origin Home, Origin Health and Origin Tracking. Founder and CEO Ray Liu said that working with SCOA is an exciting opportunity for their company. The project, which seeks to develop AI-enabled sensing to devices with 5G connectivity, is a step toward their vision of Wireless AI for SmartLifeTM.
Meanwhile, Sumitomo has been pursuing various technologies using 5G since late last year. Back in December 2019, the company partnered with various innovators in the field to launch Grape One, a wireless platform business enabled by 5G. It also conducted a demonstration testing of local 5G in Japan’s Minato Ward in Tokyo in January this year.
