The uBeam FAQ

[coppice]

I was hoping she was trying to recharge phones using human blood.

Wait, are you saying she's a vampire?

Perhaps she thought of The Matrix as a documentary.

[EEVblog]

Meanwhile in Energous ......
Looks like they are going for chapter 11 very soon.....
As of Dec/31 they had $20m of cash, and were burning $50m/year.
Since, they said they published a prospectus (the initial document for raising money on NASDAQ), anounced they raised $25m, canceled the prospectus, filed a different one, all without actually issuing a single new share to the public (according to the number of outstanding shares on their website)
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1575793/000119312519059126/d714685d424b5.htm
https://ir.energous.com/quote

I presume that most of their overhead would be in wages?
If so, expect half the company to be axed shortly.

[Fungus]

I was hoping she was trying to recharge phones using human blood.

Wait, are you saying she's a vampire?

I was thinking more "Zombie" - eating venture capitalist brains.

[djos]

I was hoping she was trying to recharge phones using human blood.

Wait, are you saying she's a vampire?

I was thinking more "Zombie" - eating venture capitalist brains.

They might be good for a light snack......

 

[sdpkom]

Meanwhile in Energous ......
Looks like they are going for chapter 11 very soon.....
As of Dec/31 they had $20m of cash, and were burning $50m/year.
Since, they said they published a prospectus (the initial document for raising money on NASDAQ), anounced they raised $25m, canceled the prospectus, filed a different one, all without actually issuing a single new share to the public (according to the number of outstanding shares on their website)
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1575793/000119312519059126/d714685d424b5.htm
https://ir.energous.com/quote

I presume that most of their overhead would be in wages?
If so, expect half the company to be axed shortly.

The money definitely flows, but not into employees pockets.
They spend $50m/year on 73 (-1) employees. I wish my wage was on that level.

[EEVblog]

The money definitely flows, but not into employees pockets.
They spend $50m/year on 73 (-1) employees. I wish my wage was on that level.

Oh, yeah, that's a lot then. Where are they hemorrhaging cash?
Come on, own up, who's doing $500/hr contract work for them? 

[ebastler]

Someone just sent me a secret pic of Perry's new startup prototype! 

Recharge your phone and test for every known disease with just a thumb prick, it's a zillion dollar idea!

Ah, too bad... Upon closer inspection, that gadget actually discharges the phone. Disappointing... 

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2015-02-smartphone-accessory-rapid-diagnosis-infectious.html

[PaulReynolds]

The money definitely flows, but not into employees pockets.
They spend $50m/year on 73 (-1) employees. I wish my wage was on that level.

Certain individuals get far more than others. Looking here https://seekingalpha.com/filing/4437835 in 2018 CEO Rizzone got around $4m total compensation, COO Joihnston around $3.1m, and  CFO Sereda around $2.4m so $9.5m total of the $50m just between those three. Then there's about $4m to 6 board directors, so straight away you're not much shy of $14m per year before any actual work gets done by the other ~70 employees. So it's really around $36m, or around $500k per employee which even with overhead, monster benefits, and solid paycheques is a hell of an amount. I guess it's a combination of other stock incentives to senior members, along with paying people enough that they don't call "foul" on the bullshit from within and just keep their heads down - after all, IMO Energous is a company whose purpose is to sell shares, the engineering is just the window dressing that allows it to happen, so it's really just a marketing expense.

[sdpkom]

The document you cite includes equity based compensation.
They just published the data for their annual shareholders meeting
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1575793/000156459019010942/watt-def14a_20190516.htm
Rizzone got $365K cash for 2017, 2018
Johnston got $300K, $340K
Serada got $250K, $307.5K

Total is about $1m-$1.5m for the entire management team. These salaries are reasonable for top management in a public company.

They have 200+ patents and patent applications, take a top notch patent attorney and assume all patents are <4 years age and filed in all OECD countries and you're $35K/patent per year (real numbers are 40% of that, nobody files worldwide, and even top notch attorneys have use lower cost stuff) , that't $7-8m.

[ebastler]

They have 200+ patents and patent applications, take a top notch patent attorney and assume all patents are <4 years age and filed in all OECD countries and you're $35K/patent per year (real numbers are 40% of that, nobody files worldwide, and even top notch attorneys have use lower cost stuff) , that't $7-8m.

I would assume that they don't have 200+ separate patent families (each with multiple national/regional applications), but that they have counted each national application to impress with a total count of 200+. That would make for a significantly lower cost. Or did they publish further details about their patent portfolio?

[EEVblog]

The document you cite includes equity based compensation.
They just published the data for their annual shareholders meeting
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1575793/000156459019010942/watt-def14a_20190516.htm
Rizzone got $365K cash for 2017, 2018
Johnston got $300K, $340K
Serada got $250K, $307.5K

Total is about $1m-$1.5m for the entire management team. These salaries are reasonable for top management in a public company.

They have 200+ patents and patent applications, take a top notch patent attorney and assume all patents are <4 years age and filed in all OECD countries and you're $35K/patent per year (real numbers are 40% of that, nobody files worldwide, and even top notch attorneys have use lower cost stuff) , that't $7-8m.

Then they do actually develop hardware. Heck, at a former company I worked at just our prototype bare PCB's alone cost us the equivalent to several full time engineering staff wages.

[sdpkom]

Then they do actually develop hardware. Heck, at a former company I worked at just our prototype bare PCB's alone cost us the equivalent to several full time engineering staff wages.

We know they actually spend money, we don't know they actually develop hardware.
I have not seen any impressive hardware they showed yet, all they demo is big circuits lighting tiny LEDs (or phone cases big enough to include a battery).

I'm still waiting for any of the "wireless power companies" to show a proof they actually deliver enough power (Safely!).

Charge a phone from a receiver that is too small to include a battery (or do it long enough so that I know no battery is inside), get battery percentage to go up.
Or
Operate a device with known power consumption, from a small receiver, over time.
Or
Allow reputable 3rd party testing

All, with the exact same device certified by FCC and all other regulatory bodies.

[PaulReynolds]

It seems that uBeam might now hire a third person since their (supposed) $25 million fundraise over 14 months ago. This time, it's a Chief Commercial/Revenue Officer

https://ubeam-inc.workable.com/j/6F65E9E036

uBeam is seeking to hire a Chief Commercial Officer/Chief Revenue Officer. uBeam is the inventor of ultrasonic power-at-a-distance Always-On Wireless EnergyTM, utilizing ultra-safe ultrasonic array technology to deliver reliable, long-range wire-free charging. By developing proprietary transducers, transmitters, receivers, and custom enterprise software, uBeam’s technology delivers usable power to devices ranging from portable electronics, medical, aerospace, automotive, and in particular IoT devices and networks. Significant revenue-generating experience in these fields, coupled with successful B2B licensing experience is essential. Experience in acoustic technology, phased array radar or ultrasound is also highly beneficial.

So "Always-On Wireless Energy" is their new tagline I guess, since it gets a 'TM', although no-one bothered with a superscript. Apparently the technology is not just safe but "ultra-safe" which I'm not sure the definition of but given the emphasis here, they must be feeling a bit of vulnerability on this front. Quite why a C-level "revenue" officer needs to have tech experience but bizarrely they want someone with "significant revenue-generating experience in these fields" and I'm not sure who that could be because quite literally no at-distance wireless power company has ever done that - not Energous, not Ossia, perhaps only PowerCast that actually have a product.

Other notable points in this job ad:

Lots of references to dealing with board members, as well as fundraising. "The CCO/CRO will be required to present to the Board of Directors on a regular basis, and from time to time will be involved in fund-raising activities on behalf of the company.", "Successful experience in fund raising and pitching to investors.", "Have considerable experience presenting at Board of Directors meetings.", and "Ability to efficiently interact with board members."

Aiming for markets outside the US, which on the one hand you can understand because the professed model needs contract manufacturers which are still heavily in China, but given every other country outside the USA definitively has a 115dB or less ultrasound limit (1000x less power than at the professed 145dB), the product is not viable there unless they ignore the law. "Experience in dealing with issues on an international basis: understanding of the North American and European landscape (knowledge of the Asian market would be a plus)."

As far as I know, this is a new position, so not from the Perry era and gives a confirmation to the business strategy the company is taking - B2B licensing, with contract manufacturers, and keep it going long enough to bamboozle for another round of investment.

[sdpkom]

Fundraising, presenting to the board of directors, generating revenue......

Sounds like a CEO to me.

Or maybe, someone to take the blame for failiure....

"Mr X failed at generating revenue.... you met him remember, its that stupid guy who tried to convince us to go to Japan last board.....lets fire him (instead of the CEO)...."

[Kean]

CSG: Chief Scapegoat

[Fungus]

CSG: Chief Scapegoat

With the money he'll be earning, he won't care.

There's a reason the word changes from "salary" to "compensation" as you go up the ladder.

[StillTrying]

What do the 30+ incredibly highly skilled and experienced engineers working at uDream actually do all day.
Despite all the Applications, Product, Design, Marketing, 7 years and $25m, their demos and prototypes look like something that I've built.
Have they ever had an Electronics Engineer.

'30+' = closer to about 8 really!

[ebastler]

What do the 30+ incredibly highly skilled and experienced engineers working at uDream actually do all day.

Is that 30+ a count or an age bracket? 

[StillTrying]

"Is that 30+ a count or an age bracket?"

I think 8 year olds would have come up with something useful by now.

[sdpkom]

Ultrasound is unsafe, hard to control, influenced by humidity, pressure, etc....
Ultrasound is difficult.

I don't think an 8yo would have come up with something useful by now.
I think SAFE wireless power using ultrasound is a hopeless task, one that Edison/Tesla/Musk/Jobs/Bezos would have failed at, even given the long years.

[EEVblog]

What do the 30+ incredibly highly skilled and experienced engineers working at uDream actually do all day.
Despite all the Applications, Product, Design, Marketing, 7 years and $25m, their demos and prototypes look like something that I've built.
Have they ever had an Electronics Engineer.
'30+' = closer to about 8 really!

According to this review from a former employee, it's "Like being paid to sit and witness the ramblings of the mentally ill. "
https://www.glassdoor.com.au/Reviews/Employee-Review-uBeam-RVW23265885.htm

[EEVblog]

https://twitter.com/meredithperry/status/1118789448672530432
https://twitter.com/meredithperry/status/1118789375532253184
Be afraid, be very afraid...
She's building shitty robots with Simone Giertz
Robots often use ultrasound...

[StillTrying]

I don't think an 8yo would have come up with something useful by now.

A cat scarer.
I've tested 40-60kHz on the cat myself. A small box containing a photo transistor or PIR and a 40kHz TX would actually be useful for keeping the cat off the desk or other places.

[EEVblog]

She's doing market research...

[StillTrying]

"How much would you pay for a non-pharma sleep aid device that could put you to sleep in ~5 minutes."

£Nothing. TedX talks are free.

"with zero side effects."

That bit would need a lot more work.