Christian Wentz

Christian T. Wentz is an American electrical engineer and entrepreneur. He is recognized for his work in engineering authenticity in electronic devices and the use of these primitives in distributed systems, developing neural interface technologies and innovation in optoelectronics, low power circuit design, wireless power and high bandwidth communication technologies.

Early life Wentz grew up in Wausau, Wisconsin. He graduated from Wausau East High School in 2004.

Wentz received a bachelor of science degree in electrical science and engineering in 2009 from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He received his master of engineering degree in electrical engineering and computer science in 2010 from MIT. He returned to MIT in 2013 to pursue a PhD with the support of the Myhrvold & Havranek Hertz Foundation Fellowship in applied sciences.

As of 2017, Wentz is on leave from MIT to pursue entrepreneurial ventures.

Career As an undergraduate student at MIT in the lab of Edward Boyden, KRS became the first company to commercialize wireless optogenetics instrumentation for use in the pharmaceutical industry and translational neuroscience.

In February 2017, KRS' neurotechnology assets were acquired by Kernel for an undisclosed sum.

In August 2018, Wentz announced the establishment and funding of Gradient Technologies, Inc., a venture focused on engineering trust into everyday electronic devices such that "the authenticity and integrity of every electronic device, the software it operates, data it stores and computes, and information itself, are provable qualities by construction, not by trust in a third party".

Previously, Wentz worked on hardware for wearable technology company Misfit, Inc. Misfit was acquired by Fossil Group in November 2015 for $260 million.