Many technology companies arrive at CES 2026 in Las Vegas, the world's biggest tech show. They often make bold claims about the life-changing potential of their innovations, but it's rare to see anything that actually lives up to the hype.
When you do see something truly special, on the other hand, it can seem like magic. That's exactly how I felt when I experienced the wireless charging demo from Finnish company Willo, a deep-tech startup that's just emerged from stealth mode.
"Seeing is believing," Willo co-founder and President Marko Voutilainen tells me as I take a seat in a Las Vegas hotel suite to witness what the company hopes will be a revolution in wireless power. It could render the charging cables that rule our lives and clog up our drawers obsolete for good.
Wireless power has long posed a conundrum to tech companies. There needs to be perfect alignment between a device and the charger, which means that it's often just as convenient to simply plug a cable into your phone. Wireless charging today feels like a half-baked solution.
The tech that Willo showed me doesn't rely on charging pads, line of sight, directional targeting or even immediate proximity. Instead, it allows devices to be charged simply by existing within the force field of the power source.
The demo I'm being shown looks unassuming. They tell me I shouldn't get caught up too much with the form factor of the power source -- a simple gray-white cube. This isn't a consumer device that's for sale, merely a means to demonstrate the technology to me.
Willo CEO Hari Santamala picks up several receivers, black boxes shaped like phones with LEDs on the top. As he moves them to within 15 inches or so of the power source, the LEDs light up. He moves them around the cube, rotating them in different directions. The LEDs remain lit.
I'm seeing. I'm believing.
Making power cables the floppy disks of tomorrow
Unfortunately, I'm not allowed to take any pictures or videos. This week at CES, Willo is emerging from stealth mode to show the world what it can do, but it's still playing its cards close to its chest.
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