Fingerprint Cards AB (Fingerprints) today announced that it has entered into an agreement to license its iris recognition technology to the Swedish company Smart Eye, listed on Nasdaq First North, for a total consideration of up to SEK 50 million.
The consideration consists of an initial fixed license fee of SEK 23 million payable in Smart Eye shares, an additional up to SEK 17 million divided into two milestone payments, payable in shares or cash at Smart Eye's discretion, the first payable upon Smart Eye being awarded its first design win incorporating any part of the iris recognition asset, and the second payable upon the first SOP (Start of Production), marking the transition to manufacturing readiness and finally a maximum of SEK 10 million in royalty payments in shares or cash, at Smart Eye's discretion, based on Smart Eyes sales within the automotive industry. Total consideration paid to Fingerprint Cards amounts to a minimum SEK 35 million over 5 years (maximum SEK 50 million).
The subscription price for the Consideration Shares for the initial fixed license fee of SEK 23 million shall be determined by calculating the volume-weighted average price of the Smart Eye share during the 5 days immediately preceding, and the 5 days following 6th of January 2025. The shares are expected to be delivered to Fingerprints on or around January 17th, 2025. There is no lock-up period for Fingerprints with respect to the share-based consideration.
Smart Eye will further grant Fingerprints a license to sell Smart Eye's multi-modal solution outside the automotive industry. Any revenues from the application developed by Smart Eye outside the automotive industry shall be shared by Smart Eye and Fingerprints on a case-by-case basis.
Smart Eye is the automotive market leader in camera-based sensing for in-vehicle applications, with more design wins and OEM customers than any other supplier. Starting in 2026, every new car in Europe must be equipped with a Driver Monitoring System (DMS) to detect driver distraction, accelerating the technology globally. Biometric authentication is an important emerging capability in automotive, with camera-based methods the most secure and intuitive solution.
"Fingerprints have an incredible heritage in biometrics, with world-leading engineers to offer the highest efficacy authentication in the widest environmental conditions. Having rigorously reviewed the market, they were simply the best iris authentication technology around, and a fantastic team to partner with” said Martin Krantz, CEO of Smart Eye. "We see an increasing interest from the automotive industry to include authentication for in-car payment system transactions and enabling other advanced features, such as driver personalization.”
As part of the agreement, Smart Eye will licence back to Fingerprints a multimodal asset including Facial Recognition and Eye Tracking, significantly expanding Fingerprints portfolio of biometric modalities. This will enable Fingerprints to sell into new and existing customer opportunities, enabling enterprise clients to improve security and user experience by replacing passwords with highly secure, user-friendly biometrics. The rise of deepfakes poses a significant threat to digital security, particularly where identity verification is critical. The combined expertise of Fingerprints and Smart Eye is expected to result in a solution that leverages the inherent security of biometrics to provide strong protection against deepfake attacks.
"This partnership is a pivotal step in our journey to expand Fingerprints' biometric offerings,” said Adam Philpott, CEO of Fingerprint Cards. "Smart Eye's leadership in automotive in-cabin sensing underscores the value and potential of our iris recognition technology.”
Smart Eye will demonstrate Fingerprints' iris recognition technology during CES 2025, January 7-10, in Las Vegas, at booth #3840. For more information or to schedule a meeting during CES, please contact Smart Eye at https://www.smarteye.se/smart-eye-at-ces-2025/#book-an-appointment.
For information, please contact:
Adam Philpott, CEO
Investor Relations:
+46(0)10-172 00 10
Press:
+46(0)10-172 00 20
This is the type of information that Fingerprint Cards AB (publ) is obligated to disclose pursuant to the EU's Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out above, on 6 January 2025 at 6:30 PM CET.
About Fingerprints
Fingerprint Cards AB (Fingerprints) - the world's leading biometrics company, with its roots in Sweden. We believe in a secure and seamless universe, where you are the key to everything. Our solutions are found in hundreds of millions of devices and applications, and are used billions of times every day, providing safe and convenient identification and authentication with a human touch. For more information visit our website, read our blog, and follow us on X. Fingerprints is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm (FING B).
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