The Wikipedia LoRa page describes LoRa as:
LoRa (Long Range) is a proprietary low-power wide-area network modulation technique.[1] It is based on spread-spectrum modulation techniques derived from chirp spread spectrum (CSS) technology.[2] It was developed by Cycleo of Grenoble, France and acquired by Semtech , the founding member of the LoRa Alliance; it is patented.[3]