Navitas and Anker partner on Next-Gen Mobile Fast Chargers
New 30W, 65W 'League of Legends' first in a new series of leading-edge fast chargers in $2B market
GaN chip maker Navitas Semiconductor and fast-charging firm Anker Innovations have signed a new strategic partnership. The agreement dedicates engineering teams from both companies to be co-located at Anker offices to develop and launch leading-edge GaNFast chargers to accelerate time-to-market.
The initial focus will be on next-generation mobile chargers but will expand into the high-growth energy-storage markets. The deal also provides a longer planning horizon for co-operative marketing across all media platforms and in-person events, such as the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), in Las Vegas.
Anker and Navitas have an established relationship, starting in 2017 when Anker was one of the first companies to create next-generation, fast-charger prototypes and then qualify the breakthrough new GaN technology.
The 2019 Anker PowerCore Fusion PD combination charger and portable power bank was a game-changing shift in mobile power, using Navitas GaNFast power ICs to reach new levels of efficiency and power density.
Steven Yang, CEO of Anker Innovations said: "I believe that having engineering teams from Anker and Navitas sitting side by side on a daily basis will greatly improve the efficiency of the product development process, translating into faster and better chargers for our customers."
"As both a long-term customer and investor in Navitas, Anker has demonstrated a passion for innovation and vision for the future of charging," said Gene Sheridan, co-founder and CEO of Navitas. "Mobile charging is a $2B target market for GaN power ICs, and working with Anker on energy-storage is aligned with our renewable / solar energy expansion strategy."
The first two fast chargers released under the new partnership are the 30W USB-C and 65W 2C+A chargers in Anker's collaboration with the "League of Legends" multi-player online battle arena video game, played on phones, tablets and laptops. With fast action and intensive, detailed graphics, the game has a high draw on battery power, and fast charging – with portability – is crucial for any LOL gamer.
Measuring 28 x 29 x 32 mm, the 30W USB-C 'Jinx' is a similar size to the original 5W so-called 'sugar-cube' phone charger and 70 percent smaller than the standard silicon-based 30W.
The 65W 2C1A 'Yasuo' charger, has 2x USB-C and 1x USB-A port to charge three devices simultaneously such as a phone, headphones and a laptop – with enough power for high-performance gaming laptops.
