Investor Insight
Edgewater Wireless (TSXV:YFI, OTC:KPIFF) is pioneering Wi-Fi Spectrum Slicing™, its patented, AI-driven solution that unlocks multiple concurrent channels from a single radio for improved connectivity.
Overview
Canadian semiconductor company Edgewater Wireless (TSXV:YFI, OTC:KPIFF) is anticipating the need for Wi-Fi 8 speed and created its pioneering and patented Wi-Fi Spectrum Slicing™ technology. The company designed this solution to create a multi-lane highway within a single radio, eliminating congestion and latency often experienced in traditional Wi-Fi architectures, which act like single-lane roads.
With its features, Spectrum Slicing acts as an intelligent distributor even with multiple devices. It allows concurrent data transmission and improves spectrum efficiency, lowering latency by 50 percent and advancing scaling performance by 7 to 18 times more without requiring changes to client end-devices.
The company operates a highly capital-efficient fabless model focused on two primary revenue avenues: selling next-generation Wi-Fi chips to equipment manufacturers and licensing its deeply protected intellectual property portfolio to major semiconductor vendors. It also joined the Silicon Valley accelerator program Silicon Catalyst in late 2024, under which it can secure US$3 million in-kind goods and services.
In 2025, it also received C$921,000 in non-dilutive funding from the Canadian government’s FabrIC program, supporting Edgewater’s made-in-Canada Wi-Fi chipsets and reinforcing domestic leadership in next-generation connectivity solutions. The company shared that this funding is allotted towards a C$2.4M project focused on the commercialization of Spectrum Slicing.
Following select silicon executions and corporate improvement, the company said that its 2026 program will focus on converting its ecosystem advantage and technical leadership into “milestone execution, strategic design-ins and durable commercial pathways.”
Delivery of next-generation silicon is anticipated in 2027.
Company Highlights
- Patented Wi-Fi Spectrum Slicing™: The company’s pioneering technology holds 26 granted patents, three pending AI-focused patents and extensive trade secrets enabling the industry's only multi-channel highway architecture on standard Wi-Fi.
- Validated Performance: Tested across 750,000 homes and 6 million devices, the technology demonstrated up to 18 times performance gains and 50 percent lower latency.
- High-Margin Fabless Model: Dual revenue streams via chip sales and strategic IP licensing across residential, enterprise and dual-use verticals.
- World-Class Industry Support: Backed by highly acclaimed accelerator Silicon Catalyst with US$3 million worth of in-kind resources and led by key advisors like former Qualcomm Vice President Rick Bahr.
- Non-Dilutive Funding Catalysts: Accelerated by Canadian government chip programs including FABrIC funding with an approximately CA$0.40 return for every dollar spent.
Key Projects
Wi-Fi Spectrum Slicing™
Introduced in 2020, Edgewater Wireless’ pioneering technology is a solution that focuses on creating more lanes for Wi-Fi Traffic. The company found that the wireless world is currently crowded, leading to connectivity problems such as longer loading times, increased latency and performance drops. All these lead to less reliability, which Spectrum Slicing aims to address.
With devices intelligently divided, slicing enables more physical capacity, reduced contention, lower latency and overall better performance and spectrum efficiency.
This company partnered with Liberty Global to test the technology with a 750,000-home, 6-million-device proof-of-concept. Key outcomes include the demonstration of superior performance and reliability with Spectrum Slicing, alongside Edgewater Wireless’ validation as a “next-generation solution provider” in the internet industry.
As of July 2024, the company has initiated a detailed architecture and design review for key elements of Spectrum Slicing™ technology.
“We are advancing Spectrum Slicing from a validated technology advantage toward practical commercial implementation for real-world applications where reliability matters,” said President and CEO Andrew Skafel.
PrismIQ™ Silicon Solutions
PrismIQ is Edgewater Wireless’ flagship Wi-Fi 8-ready commercial development program centered on next-generation silicon design. It is an AI-powered Spectrum Slicing™ silicon divided into three families: Residential, Enterprises and Industrial lot. The focus is to deliver ultra-high reliability, lower latency and have up to 28 concurrent wireless links from a single access point.
The platform’s roadmap is currently under review alongside the elements of Spectrum Slicing™. The company added that it expects to continue advancing toward a demonstration-ready PrismIQ™ prototype, targeted before the end of the year. The purpose of the prototype is to showcase how Spectrum Slicing™ performs in demanding, real-world conditions.
Management Team
Andrew Skafel – President & CEO
Andrew Skafel is a recognized wireless industry leader with over two decades of telecom and technology experience. Under his leadership, Edgewater pioneered Wi-Fi Spectrum Slicing. He previously held senior product and strategy roles across international telecom vendors and even drove growth for emerging technologies with Newbridge Networks/Alcatel, Silicon Valley-based InterWAVE Communications and the Canadian Government.
Eric Smith - Vice President-Product
An entrepreneur and highly creative business leader, Eric has been instrumental in disruptive technology innovation for the past 20 years, from the infancy of High-Speed Internet to advancements in 5G. He has developed and brought to market products deployed, purchased or acquired by industry-leading public companies including Comcast, Mitel, Windstream, and Zayo. He is responsible for overseeing the development of the company’s next-generation Wi-Fi Spectrum Slicing products and solutions.
Brian Imrie – Chairman of the Board
Brian Imrie is a seasoned investment banker and corporate executive with over 30 years of corporate finance and M&A experience. He previously served as Global Head of Mining M&A at KPMG Corporate Finance and Co-Head of M&A at National Bank Financial, holding senior roles at Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse.
Ralph Garcea – Independent Director
Bringing over two years of research engineering experience, Garcea has over two decades of top-ranked sell-side technology analyst experience in Canadian capital markets. He is the co-founder of Focus Merchant Group, and he has received top three rankings from Brendan Woods, Greenwich, Starmine and Thomson Reuters surveys.
James (Jim) Skippen – Independent Director
Jim Skippen is a seasoned IP executive and lawyer, former CEO and Chairman of WiLAN Inc. (Quarterhill Inc.), where he built a premier patent licensing organization. Recognized as one of the world's top IP strategists by IAM, he brings deep expertise in technology licensing, litigation and governance.
Rick Bahr — Advisor
Rick Bahr has over three decades of experience in the industry, having played multiple roles in companies such as HP, Prime and Apollo. He was responsible for both MIPS processor and Cray supercomputer hardware engineering at SGI, and is currently an adjunct professor with Stanford University, assisting research centers in the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science departments.
Nick Kepler - Board Observer
With over two decades of experience, Kepler held leadership positions in companies such as SuVolta and GlobalFoundries. He is currently Chief Operating Officer of Silicon Catalyst, the world’s only incubator focused exclusively on accelerating solutions in silicon.
Steve Andrews - Advisor
Andrews has over 25 years as an executive in the communications industry. He spent most of his career with British Telecom and is currently a Board Advisor to Wireless Broadband Alliance, a company that formulates industry strategies for WiFi and related technologies.