Israeli start-up Kado, which has developed an innovative ultra-thin charging technology, has announced its first overseas cooperation agreement for the development of its products. Under the agreement, Kado is collaborating with South Korea’s Dongyang E&P to complete the development of the world’s thinnest charger for laptops, which will also become the world’s first foldable charger for laptops.
Dongyang E&P, which supplies chargers for the electronics giant Samsung, is a public company listed on Korea’s KOSDAQ exchange. It has 2,285 employees, and reported a turnover of approximately $392.3 million in 2016. The joint work will be undertaken at Kado’s development center in Israel and in Seoul in South Korea, and is projected to take about 14 months.
The two companies will invest $2m in the project, of which $1m was obtained from KORIL-RDF, the Korea-Israel Industrial Research and Development Foundation, a joint foundation of the Israeli and South Korean governments. Kado is currently looking into further collaborations with technology and business partners.
Kado was founded in Israel in May 2016 by serial entrepreneurs Daniel Assis, Itay Hasid, and other partners. In February 2017, the company raised $1.2m with the participation of venture capital fund AltaIR Capital, to develop its products. The company unveiled the thinnest wall chargers of their kind in the world – a 5mm thick wall charger for smartphones and tablets and the world’s first foldable charger for laptops, which Kado is now developing with Dongyand E&P.
In 2016, Kado’s entrepreneurs chalked up a successful exit with Mobeego, the previous company that they founded. Mobeego developed and marketed a disposable charger for mobile devices, selling half a million units in 14 countries in three months. Mobeego, which launched its product in late 2015, was sold to Life Clips Inc., an American public company, for $6m in June 2016, six months following the launch.
Kado’s innovation offers a power conversion technology with high levels of power density and utilization. The company’s compact and extremely thin chargers and transformers set new standards in the field of charging, creating products that are best suited for today’s mobile lifestyle. Kado and Dongyang E&P’s laptop charger is designed to be just 8mm thick, as thick as a typical smartphone. The charger, planned to suit most laptop types, will be based on patent-protected technology by both companies. The product will supply 65W and includes two USB ports for simultaneously charging a second, smaller device, such as a smartphone or a tablet.
Kado said that users can easily and comfortably carry the charger next to their laptop. The company is developing additional products and peripherals, such as special rolled cables, covers, and other modular units to complete the unique thin charging experience.
“The strategic cooperation with Dongyand E&P, supported by KORIL-RDF, is the first stage in realizing Kado’s vision to replace the current cumbersome chargers and transformers with compact products suited for the contemporary mobile lifestyle,” said Daniel Assis, the CEO of Kado. “We intend to raise additional capital in 2018 and promote collaborations with foreign companies in order to bring the most convenient and thinnest chargers ever created to the global market.”
