Shwetak Patel
SNUPI Technologies, the startup resulting from the research of UW CSE and EE professors Shwetak Patel and Matt Reynolds and graduate student Gabe Cohn, and led by serial entrepreneur (and UW CSE alum) Jeremy Jaech, has sold its WallyHome sensing technology to Sears. SNUPI, which stands for “Sensor Network Utilizing Powerline Infrastructure,” also plans to license related technology to the company and to consult on the development of future products. As part of the deal, Sears announced it is opening an engineering office in Seattle — on the UW campus.
From the GeekWire article:
“The deal gives Sears technology that can sense changes in moisture, temperature and humidity — alerting property owners to water leaks and other potential problems. The technology promises to bolster the company’s lineup of Connected Solutions smart home devices.
Matt Reynolds
“As part of the acquisition, Sears will also assume a 10,000-square-foot lease on the University of Washington campus, where the retail and home services giant will operate a new tech development center….”
“Patel, who sold a previous startup to Belkin, said in a statement that the deal with Sears ‘further amplifies the University of Washington’s leadership in the research and commercialization of IoT solutions.’ ”
This is the second corporate engineering office located in Seattle as a result of Patel’s research: a year ago Belkin located the headquarters of its WeMo home automation division in Seattle after acquiring Patel’s earlier startup Zensi.
Jeremy Jaech
Read the full article here.