Rupert Baines Takes the Helm as CEO of GaN Specialist QPT

QPT, the GaN-based motor drive specialist, has announced the appointment of Rupert Baines as its CEO, effective from 1 April 2024.

Baines brings a wealth of experience to the role, having previously served as the CMO of PicoChip, CEO of UltraSoC, and CMO of Codasip.

"Rupert has been the lead adviser for QPT since January 2022, and his support has been invaluable," says QPT founder and CTO Rob Gwynne. "We are now at a very exciting stage: first prototypes, customer traction, and raising funding on Crowdcube. We are looking forward to having Rupert on board to accelerate our growth."

Baines expressed his excitement about his new role, stating, "I have been advising QPT for the last two years and am delighted to have been offered the position of CEO. The immense scale of the opportunity is incredibly exciting: up to 45% of world electricity is used in electric motors, which is increasing as we move towards net zero. However, many motors are wasteful of energy. QPT's qGaN technology is designed to make motors more efficient, reducing power consumption and carbon dioxide emissions. I was really proud to collect the winner's plaque for the ABB 'Power Density Start-up Challenge 2023 for Motor Drive Products'."

QPT aims to revolutionize energy use with motor drives and inverters based on GaN transistors and controlled by QPT's qGaN technology. According to QPT's studies, these motor drives are not only more energy-efficient but also smaller and cooler compared to those based on Si or SiC transistors.

In a significant development, two co-founders of GaN Systems, Girvan Patterson and Geoff Haynes, have recently joined QPT as advisers. Baines commented on this, saying, "It is a testament to our vision and technology that two founders of GaN Systems have joined QPT. They have an incredible understanding of GaN technology and the market, which they will be using to accelerate the growth of the company and the deployment of our award-winning qGaN technology into key companies in the market."

QPT has also opened its first funding round on Crowdcube, with a target of £1m. The round is eligible for EIS (Enterprise Investment Scheme) and interested investors can access early access through the following link: https://www.crowdcube.com/early-access/qpt.