KISS: Keyssa promises an NFC-like connection with much faster data transfer

Keyssa, a US startup backed by US$47m in funding from investors that include Intel, Samsung and Dolby Family Ventures and chaired by Nest founder Tony Fadell, has unveiled Kiss Connectivity, a solid-state embedded connector that can be used to transfer data between two devices at up to six gigabits per second.

Kiss Connectivity uses a “coffee bean-sized connector” that can be integrated into a wide range of devices. It has the potential to enable videos, movies and large media files to be transferred between mobile phones, tablets, laptops and other consumer electronic devices in as little as two seconds “with virtually no battery drain”, Keyssa says.

“Kiss Connectivity uses an extremely high frequency (EHF) carrier to transport electrical-based protocols over a short distance through plastics and air,” the company explains. “Unlike wireless networks like WiFi and cellular, Kiss Connectivity is a point-to-point connection. Data travels securely from one device to another.

“Kiss Connectivity combines breakthroughs in mechanical design, electromagnetics, materials science and semiconductor technologies. When built into tablets, laptops, smartphones or docks, it saves space and frees product designers who are currently constrained by today’s large, delicate, mechanical connectors to create sleeker and more rugged devices.

“It also offers consumers a new way to share, sync and store their content, simply and securely, without crowded wireless networks that can be hacked.”

Keyssa is currently working with “key customers” to prototype a range of devices that make use of early Kiss Connectivity samples, the company adds. “Keyssa fully expects to launch Kiss Connectivity products in the first half of 2015.”