Welsh government awards funding to Touch Biometrix

Jul 12, 2018 | Stephen Mayhew

Categories Biometrics News | Fingerprint Recognition

Touch Biometrix has been awarded funding from the Welsh government’s £63.4M SMARTCymru program. SMARTCymru is backed by £27M from the EU and helps businesses in Wales develop new products, processes and services by supporting increased investment in research, development and innovation.

The North Wales-based fingerprint technology company was recently recognized as a key global player in a new report that predicts the fingerprint sensor market is expected to grow from $4.25 billion in 2018 to $8.8 billion by 2023. Touch Biometrix was founded in 2017 by Dr. Mike Cowin with the aim of becoming one of the top five fingerprint sensor suppliers in the world by 2023.

The Technology and Commercial Feasibility (TCF) funding is the first phase of the SMARTCymru funding stream and is focused on market assessment and intellectual property growth. This assists companies to consolidate the technological and commercial viability of transformative innovations into new products. The end of the project operates as a stage gate for further funding to support product development.

“We’re delighted to have received this support from the Welsh Government and the EU,” commented Dr. Mike Cowin, CEO of Touch Biometrix. “This all helps to support our development of a new user authentication experience that eliminates the need for passwords when using smartphones, computers and smart objects.”

“The Welsh Government, through Smart Cymru, is pleased to be supporting an exciting and innovative business like Touch Biometrix as it develops its technology platform here in Wales,” added Economy Secretary Ken Skates. “With their advanced finger sensor technology, I am confident that North Wales-based Touch Biometrix have a confident future ahead and we are proud to be working with them and supporting their growth.”

Touch Biometrix announced in May that it had secured £150,000 seed investment from Deepbridge Capital to enable the business to develop new fingerprint-based solutions for a range of consumer electronics. Deepbridge Capital provides funding to growth-focused technology and life sciences companies across the UK. Last month the company appointed a new CTO to manage the development of the company’s first fingerprint sensor product.