Imagine a world where your phone, laptop, and smart home gadgets never run out of battery. You do not need to plug them in. You do not even need to place them on a special pad. This is the future Finnish startup Willo is building right now. The company just secured €2.9 million to turn this sci-fi dream into a working reality.
The end of the charging cable
We have all dealt with the frustration of a dying battery. You scramble for a cable. You twist it to get the right angle. Or you place your phone on a wireless pad, only to wake up and find it did not charge because it was one inch off center. Willo wants to fix this broken system permanently.
The startup has developed a new way to send power through the air. Unlike current wireless chargers that require perfect alignment, Willo creates a stable power field. Devices can move, rotate, and sit anywhere within this zone. They will still receive a steady charge. This technology allows multiple devices to charge at the same time without any cords.
Harri Santamala is the CEO and co-founder of Willo. He believes we are stuck in the past when it comes to power. He states that wireless power is one of the last unsolved layers of infrastructure.
Why current charging fails:
- Cables: They break, get lost, and limit movement.
- Induction Pads: You must align the device perfectly.
- Battery Anxiety: We carry power banks because we fear running out of energy.
Willo challenges the limits of classical induction charging. They are moving us from a “parking to charge” mindset to a “charging while working” reality. The goal is simple yet ambitious. They want to create a world totally free of cables. This applies to drones, industrial robots, and eventually your smartphone.
alignment free wireless charging technology demonstration
A team built on deep trust
The story of Willo began in a casual setting that turned into a serious business partnership. The founders met at a hackathon event. Marko Voutilainen, one of the co-founders, recalls meeting Harri Santamala and Dr. Nam Ha-Van. He did not know they would build a company together back then. But he knew these were people he wanted to work with immediately.
The technical brain behind this operation is Dr. Nam Ha-Van. He serves as the Chief Technology Officer. The team describes him as a generational genius who remains incredibly humble. He spent over a decade researching wireless power transfer. After earning his PhD in South Korea, he returned to research this specific field.
They protect their hard work with a smart legal strategy. They call it the “onion strategy.”
- Core Layer: They patent the foundational technology.
- Outer Layers: Every time they solve a new engineering problem, they patent that too.
- Trade Secrets: Some methods are never written down. They are kept secret like the Coca-Cola recipe.
This mix of public patents and private secrets keeps competitors away. Big tech companies are already knocking on their door. Executives from major global firms have seen the demos. Their reaction is usually pure shock. They often ask how the team managed to achieve such stable power transfer over the air.
Robots get the first taste of freedom
You might want this for your iPhone, but industrial robots will get it first. The team decided to focus on autonomous robotics as their first big market. This is a strategic move. Robots today have a major weakness because they must stop working to charge.
Factories lose money every minute a robot sits at a charging station. Willo changes the math entirely.
- Continuous Run Time: Robots can work 24/7 while charging in motion.
- Lighter Hardware: Devices do not need massive batteries to survive a full shift.
- Sustainability: Smaller batteries mean fewer mined minerals and less e-waste.
Voutilainen explains that choosing a focus was hard. Everyone wanted their tech. But a startup cannot do everything at once. They had to separate the noise from the real signals. They chose robotics because the pain point was the most expensive for customers.
The system creates a power zone. A robot enters the zone and starts charging automatically. It does not need to dock. It does not need a human to plug it in. It just keeps working. This could revolutionize warehouses and manufacturing plants globally.
Investors bet big on European tech
The investment round moved incredibly fast. It was led by byFounders, a firm known for backing strong Nordic talent. Other investors include Interface Capital, Unruly Capital, and Wave Ventures. A group of high-profile angel investors also joined the round.
Notable backers include:
- Andreas Klinger: Former CTO of Product Hunt.
- Niccolò Perra: Co-founder of Pleo.
- Urho Konttori: CEO of Varjo.
- Sune Alstrup: Founder of The Eye Tribe.
Voutilainen admits the fundraising was faster than they expected. Term sheets arrived within weeks of their demos. Investors moved quickly because they saw a European team solving a global infrastructure problem.
Magnus Hambleton is a Partner at byFounders. He praised the team for pairing deep technical science with real hardware execution. He noted that very few teams in Europe have the skill to pull this off.
The €2.9 million will help Willo move from the lab to the real world. They have proven the science works. Now they need to engineer it for mass production. They are building a reference system that partners can test. The goal is to let other manufacturers build Willo receivers directly into their products.
This funding is just the start. The company operates across Finland, the United States, and Japan. They are positioning themselves as a global leader in the next generation of power. The era of the charging cable is officially ending. Willo is making sure of it.
Summary
Willo has raised €2.9 million to commercialize a new wireless power technology that does not require cables or charging pads. Led by a team of deeptech experts, the startup enables devices to charge over the air while moving or rotating. They are focusing first on industrial robotics to eliminate downtime in factories. Investors have backed them heavily, seeing this as the final missing piece of modern infrastructure.
What do you think about a future without charging cables? Would you trust over-the-air power for your devices? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
