Ixana
Ixana is a Purdue University spin-out that designs and ships Wi-R silicon chips using confined electro-quasistatic fields to deliver ultra-low-power, sub-millisecond-latency wireless connectivity for wearable, defense, industrial, and medical OEMs.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2021
- HeadquartersSeattle, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Ixana does
Ixana (legal entity Quasistatics Inc.) is a privately held wearable hardware and semiconductor company founded in March 2021 as a spin-out of Purdue University research, headquartered in West Lafayette, Indiana, with a 75+ person team and additional engineering presence in Bangalore, India. The company develops and commercializes Wi-R (Wire-like Wireless), a non-radiative near-field communication technology that uses confined electro-quasistatic (EQS) fields to deliver wire-like connectivity at up to 100x lower energy per bit than Bluetooth/Wi-Fi and sub-millisecond latency. Wi-R is delivered through two product platforms: Wi-R BAN (Body Area Network) for on-person wearable connectivity via YR23 and YR31 transceivers, and Wi-R NFE (Near Field Electric) for close-range sealed-device provisioning and data transfer via XA-NFE2001 and XA-NFE3001 chips.
The underlying platform is backed by 40-45 patents, peer-reviewed validation in Nature (Scientific Reports, 2019), and 15 silicon tapeouts completed over five years. Ixana monetizes through three channels: silicon chip sales to OEMs targeting 1M+ units/year integration volumes, evaluation developer kits priced $899-$1,299 for engineering teams, and enterprise/OEM partnership arrangements that include dedicated field application engineering and priority silicon allocation. Defense is a disproportionately large revenue and validation segment, with multiple U.S. Department of Defense contracts (Air Force, Army), a fourth DoD contract awarded by May 2025, selection in the NATO-Ukraine JATEC Innovation Challenge, and a strategic alliance with OTTO Engineering for tactical audio and military radios.
Customers and design partners span U.S. Department of Defense programs (Air Force and Army), NATO-Ukraine JATEC, OTTO Engineering, three defense primes with integration planned for 2026-2027, major consumer electronics OEMs for smart glasses/watches/earbuds, and smart grid infrastructure operators for sealed utility enclosures. The company has been recognized with a CES 2024 Innovation Award Honoree (Embedded Technologies), EE Times Silicon 100 listing, TechPoint Mira Award for Startup of the Year (2023), third place in NATO's 17th Innovation Challenge, and CNET Best of CES 2026 coverage.
Ixana firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Ixana
- Legal name
- Quasistatics Inc.
- Website
- https://ixana.ai
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2021
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Ixana is a Purdue University spin-out that designs and ships Wi-R silicon chips using confined electro-quasistatic fields to deliver ultra-low-power, sub-millisecond-latency wireless connectivity for wearable, defense, industrial, and medical OEMs.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Ixana industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Wireless Connectivity Semiconductors
- NAICS
- Other Communications Equipment Manufacturing (33429), Radio and Television Broadcasting and Wireless Communications Equipment Manufacturing (334220), Electronic Connector Manufacturing (334417)
- SIC
- Computer Communications Equipment (3576), Communications Equipment, Nec (3669), Electronic Connectors (3678)
- akta.pro primary industry
- UWB, NFC & Short-Range Connectivity ICs (HDAHAMAI)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Mobile & Wireless Connectivity SoCs (Modem/Wi‑Fi/Bluetooth/GNSS) (HDAHABAA), RF, Microwave & Wireless ICs (HDAHAAAF)
Keywords
Where Ixana is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Seattle
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices4 records
Markets served
Ixana business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Silicon Chip Sales: Ixana sells Wi-R silicon chips (YR23, YR31, XA-NFE2001, XA-NFE3001) to OEMs for integration into their products. Chips are available for high-volume orders with pricing tiers based on quantity.
- Developer Kit Sales: Ixana sells hardware and software development bundles for Wi-R BAN and NFE evaluation. Kits include 2x evaluation boards, SDK, reference firmware, example scripts, and reference designs with email support. Pricing ranges from $899 to $1,299 per kit depending on configuration.
- OEM Partnership & Licensing: Ixana provides dedicated engineering support, roadmap access, and silicon allocation for partners planning high-volume integration (1M+ units/year), potentially including licensing arrangements for Wi-R technology.
- Defense Contracts: Ixana has secured multiple U.S. Department of Defense contracts including Air Force and Army programs for RF-silent communication systems, tactical audio devices, and drone operations. This includes fourth U.S. Defense Department contract as of May 2025.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Wi-R BAN Development Kit |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | YR11 1 Mb/s Wi-R Chip |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Enterprise/OEM Partnership |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
Ixana product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Ixana designs and sells Wi-R silicon chips and development kits that enable non-radiative, ultra-low-power wireless communication using confined electro-quasistatic fields. Its two platforms—Wi-R BAN for body-area networking among wearables and Wi-R NFE for portless sealed-device connectivity—are sold to OEMs, defense primes, and engineering teams for integration into wearables, AR/VR, medical, industrial, and defense products.
Product overview
Ixana offers a dual-platform product architecture centered on Wi-R technology—a revolutionary non-radiative near-field wireless communication system using confined electro-quasistatic (EQS) fields. The company provides two deployment modes: Wi-R BAN (Body Area Network) for wearable connectivity and Wi-R NFE (Near Field Electric) for close-range sealed-device links. The Wi-R BAN platform includes YR23 (100 kbit/s-5 Mbit/s) and YR31 (up to 20 Mbit/s) transceiver chips for body-worn applications, while the Wi-R NFE platform includes XA-NFE2001 (5 Mbit/s, 5-25cm) and XA-NFE3001 (up to 30 Mbit/s, 1-15cm) chips for portless provisioning and sealed-enclosure data transfer. Both platforms share the same SDK and development ecosystem, enabling complementary use cases from always-on wearable streaming to intentional touch-to-connect interactions. Ixana sells developer kits, reference designs, and silicon chips directly to OEM partners, with an evaluation track for engineering teams and a partnership track for high-volume integration (1M+ units/year).
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Wi-R BAN Platform Ixana's flagship platform for secure, ultra-low-power body-area network communication using confined electric-field coupling, enabling wire-like connectivity between wearables with sub-millisecond latency and up to 100x lower power than Bluetooth.
- Wi-R NFE Platform Near-field electric connectivity platform enabling secure, RF-silent short-range data links using contained electric-field coupling. It replaces physical connectors with touch-to-connect functionality for portless device provisioning, service, and data offload through sealed enclosures.
- YR23 Wi-R BAN Transceiver Third-generation Wi-R BAN transceiver offering ultra-low power consumption with 100 kbit/s to 5 Mbit/s data rates, supporting up to 16 devices, <1ms latency, and physical security via E-field confinement. Designed for wearables, audio streaming, health monitoring, and defense applications.
- YR31 Wi-R BAN Transceiver High-speed Wi-R BAN transceiver delivering up to 20 Mbit/s data rates with <0.2ms latency, supporting up to 16 devices. Optimized for smart glasses and multi-sensor wearable networks.
- XA-NFE2001 Wi-R NFE Transceiver Near-field electric transceiver delivering up to 5 Mbit/s data rate with 5-25cm range (extendable to 1m), <1ms latency, and 0.08 nJ/bit power consumption at 5 Mbit/s. Targets datacenters, secure access, industrial controllers, and medical instruments.
- XA-NFE3001 Wi-R NFE Transceiver Next-generation high-speed near-field electric data link chip delivering up to 30 Mbit/s PHY rate with ~13.5 Mbit/s real throughput. Designed for demanding applications including BCI data offload, firmware provisioning, and industrial IoT.
- Wi-R BAN Developer Kit Hardware and software bundle for development and evaluation of Wi-R BAN applications. Includes 2x evaluation boards, SDK, reference firmware, example scripts, reference designs, and datasheets. Configurations include USB Type-C smartphone dongle ($999), headphone kit ($899), and AR camera kit ($1,299).
- Wi-R NFE Developer Kit Evaluation kit for Wi-R NFE technology featuring the XA-NFE2001 or XA-NFE3001 chip. Includes development boards, SDK, reference firmware, technical documentation, and email support for initial bring-up. NDA required.
- Wi-R Reference Designs Pre-verified reference designs for implementing Wi-R BAN in end products, including all-day video streaming smart glasses reference design and tactical headphone-to-radio communication reference design for secure defense applications.
Quantifiable outcome
- 100x lower energy per bit vs Bluetooth/BLE; 50x lower than NFC
- +5 more outcomes
Companies that use Ixana
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Ixana technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability7 records
Feature7 records
Ixana partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered strategic and core partner.
- NATO-Ukraine JATECstrategicIxana was selected among nine companies for NATO Innovation Challenge focused on AI-based counter-drone solutions, medical systems, and autonomous defense technologies. Advancing to rapid prototyping and field testing.
- OTTO Engineeringcore partnerStrategic alliance to develop tactical audio devices, military radios, and control interfaces for soldiers using Wi-R technology for cable-free connectivity in RF-constrained defense environments.
Scale indicators9 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Ixana competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Qorvo (formerly Decawave): Qorvo acquired Decawave, the leading UWB short-range connectivity IC vendor, and now sells UWB chips into the same smartphone, automotive, and IoT OEM customers Ixana targets. Decawave is the most direct functional peer to Wi-R — both pursue ultra-low-power, short-range, secure wireless connectivity at the chip level — and Ixana's EVP Sales is ex-Decawave CRO.
- Atmosic Technologies: Atmosic designs ultra-low-power BLE SoCs targeting battery-free and long-life IoT/wearable applications. It competes for the same 'energy efficiency solves wearables' narrative as Ixana and is sold into comparable OEM sockets.
- Nordic Semiconductor: Nordic is the leading BLE SoC vendor for wearables, hearables, and IoT — the de-facto incumbent chip inside most consumer wearables and a direct competitor for Ixana's Wi-R BAN sockets in smart watches, rings, and earbuds.
Broad incumbents
- NXP Semiconductors: NXP is the dominant supplier of NFC controllers and secure connectivity ICs used in smartphones, wearables, payment terminals, and automotive key fobs — directly overlapping with Wi-R NFE's portless/touch-based use cases as a broad incumbent with vastly larger scale.
- STMicroelectronics: ST sells NFC, Bluetooth Low Energy, and secure connectivity ICs across consumer, industrial, and automotive markets. As a top-3 incumbent in short-range wireless, ST is the broader incumbent Ixana must displace or co-exist with in OEM design wins.
- Apple (U1/U2 UWB silicon): Apple's U-series UWB chips power spatial awareness, AirDrop directionality, and Digital Car Key across iPhone, AirTags, and Watch. Apple is a broad incumbent defining consumer expectations for short-range secure connectivity that Ixana must either complement or compete against.
- Texas Instruments: TI manufactures a broad portfolio of BLE, SimpleLink wireless MCUs, and connectivity ICs widely embedded in wearables, hearables, medical, and industrial devices — a primary incumbent Ixana encounters when pitching into industrial and medical OEM accounts.
Emerging players
- Morse Micro: Morse Micro builds Wi-Fi HaLow (802.11ah) SoCs for long-range, low-power IoT connectivity. While focused on a different protocol, it competes for the same low-power connectivity narrative and similar industrial/IoT OEM customers.
- Nanopower Semiconductor: Nanopower develops ultra-low-power wireless ICs aimed at energy-harvesting and always-on IoT sensors. It targets similar low-duty-cycle wearable and industrial sensor use cases and is an emerging alternative for power-constrained OEMs.
Others
- Imec: Imec is a leading semiconductor and wireless research hub that has published competing work on body-coupled communication and ultra-low-power radio. It is an adjacent research-driven organization rather than a commercial peer but represents a potential future source of competitive IP.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Ixana social profiles
Digital presenceIxana financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Ixana leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
Ixana funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors8 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Ixana M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Ixana
What does Ixana do?
Ixana designs and sells Wi-R silicon chips and development kits that enable non-radiative, ultra-low-power wireless communication using confined electro-quasistatic fields. Its two platforms—Wi-R BAN for body-area networking among wearables and Wi-R NFE for portless sealed-device connectivity—are sold to OEMs, defense primes, and engineering teams for integration into wearables, AR/VR, medical, industrial, and defense products.
Is Ixana a public or private company?
Ixana is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Ixana founded?
Ixana was founded in 2021. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Ixana based?
Ixana is headquartered in Seattle, United States, in the North America region.
How does Ixana make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Silicon Chip Sales are the primary driver. The others are developer Kit Sales, OEM Partnership & Licensing and defense Contracts.
Who are Ixana's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Qorvo (formerly Decawave), Atmosic Technologies and Nordic Semiconductor. Broad incumbents are NXP Semiconductors, STMicroelectronics, Apple (U1/U2 UWB silicon) and Texas Instruments. Emerging players are Morse Micro and Nanopower Semiconductor. Imec is listed as an others.
Does Ixana have an API?
No public API is recorded for Ixana.
What industry is Ixana in?
Ixana's product category is Wireless Connectivity Semiconductors. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDAHAMAI, UWB, NFC & Short-Range Connectivity ICs, with a secondary code of HDAHABAA, Mobile & Wireless Connectivity SoCs (Modem/Wi‑Fi/Bluetooth/GNSS). Its NAICS code is 33429 and its SIC code is 3576.