Birmingham technology company expands into Far East

5 May 2017:  A Birmingham tech company is expanding into the Far East with the opening of a Taiwanese subsidiary.

Smart Antenna Technologies (SAT), based on the University of Birmingham’s campus in Edgbaston, is opening a research facility in the Taiwanese capital of Taipei.

The company, set up 2013, will initially hire five new engineers to work with customers in China, Japan and Taiwan.

SAT currently employs 19 engineers and researchers at its Birmingham HQ and at a separate office in Bath. The Taiwanese facility will be managed from the Edgbaston headquarters.

Currently smartphones and laptops have up to five separate antennas for Bluetooth, WiFi and 4G connections. SAT’s technology enables a device’s multiple antennae to be sited in one unit.

SAT’s technology can also extend device battery life by up to 10%.

Dr Sampson Hu, SAT’s Chief Executive Officer, said the company’s expansion will meet customer demand for its antenna technology.

Dr Hu, 33, said: “It is an exciting time for the company and our expansion to the Far East underlines our ambitions. Our technology has the potential to be placed in every device with an antenna. This includes smart phones, laptops and connected devices at home.  By establishing a presence in Taipei we will be on the front foot to work with our customers in the region. The market for connected devices in China and the Far East is huge and growing every year. With our new office we are well placed to meet that demand.”

Dr James Wilkie, Director of Enterprise & Innovation at the University of Birmingham commented:  “Smart Antenna Technologies was formed as a spinout from the University of Birmingham, who supported the technology when it was at the invention stage.  We are enormously pleased that the company has developed as an exemplar of how inventions from Birmingham are being commercialised internationally.”