A Virginia-based startup called PsiKick is developing an ultra-low-power microchip for simple sensing tasks. Depending on the application, it consumes between 1 and 0.1 percent of the power of comparable chips on the market, says PsiKick cofounder David Wentzloff. Wentzloff and cofounder Brenton Calhoun did their graduate work together in Anantha Chandrakasan’s Energy-Efficient Circuits and Systems lab at MIT. The two went on to become professors at the University of Michigan and the University of Virginia, respectively, but continued their collaboration. The startup plans to sell its fi...