Precise inks licensing deal and FPC gets volume order for new biometric sensors

Precise Biometrics has struck a commercial licensing deal with France-based organic optical sensor maker Isorg to license and support fingerprint technology for a new line of biometric sensors for mobile devices.

Isorg announced its intention to enter the commercial market for fingerprint sensors with its organic photodiode (OPD) technology when it raised millions in a series C funding round in mid-2021.

The partnership will generate approximately SEK 11 million (roughly US$1.1 million) for Precise in fixed fees. The company also gets future royalties based on the number of fingerprint sensors sold. The sensors in question are intended for implementation in mobile phones.

The deal aligns with Precise’s strategy for growing its algorithm business through partnerships with new sensor vendors and for new sensor types, according to the announcement.

“This partnership proves the strength of our fingerprint technology and how we are able to develop and optimize our algorithms to secure market-leading performance for the most technically advanced fingerprint sensors,” says Patrick Höijer, CEO of Precise. “Through the new partnership with Isorg, we are strengthening our go-to-market channels in line with our growth strategy for Algo, and further capitalizing on our strong position in the mobile market.”

Höijer said recently that he expects sales to mobile phone manufacturers to rebound gradually over the course of 2023.

The deal was announced in late-December and is expected to contribute SEK 600,000 in revenues to Precise’s fourth-quarter tally. The remainder of the fixed fees are evenly distributed through the end of 2024.

Volume under-display order for Fingerprint Cards

A volume purchase order has been placed with Fingerprint Cards for its under-display fingerprint biometric solution from an unnamed, but reportedly major Asian smartphone manufacturer.

The deal marks Fingerprint Cards’ entry into the under-display segment of the market, and follows a design win announced last June.

The average selling price of under-display biometric sensors like the FPC1632 is higher than that of its capacitive sensors, according to a company announcement. The company says the total addressable market for under-display sensors is similar in value, though half the size by volume, and it intends to capture a significant share in it.

“I am very pleased that we are now starting to generate revenue from an entirely new product segment in our portfolio: under-display sensors. Being a long-time, well-established world leader in capacitive sensors, Fingerprints can now offer customers a comprehensive fingerprint sensor product range,” says Haiyuan Bu, president of Mobile, PC & Access China at Fingerprint Cards.

Fingerprint Cards also recently launched a microcontroller unit to develop match-on-chip sensors for the higher-security PC market.

Article Topics

biometric sensors  |  biometrics  |  Fingerprint Cards  |  fingerprint sensors  |  Isorg  |  licensing  |  Precise Biometrics  |  smartphones  |  stocks  |  under display