BASF mulls sale of biometric subsidiary trinamiX

German chemical giant BASF is considering the sale of its subsidiary trinamiX, which specializes in biometric imaging and mobile NIR spectroscopy solutions.

The company is examining strategic options for trinamiX as part of a wider long-term restructuring. The subsidiary’s activities are not a part of BASF’s core business, which is the focus of its new strategy, the firm said on Monday.

“In the reassessment of trinamiX, the focus is on restructuring, cost efficiency and value optimization. The strategic measures may also include the sale of individual business areas,” says the announcement.​

The announcement also stated that the biometric firm is going through management changes. Managing Director Ingmar Bruder, who has led the firm since its founding in 2015, has left the management board of the company on Monday.

Bruder will be succeeded by Lothar Laupichler, head of BASF’s global electronic materials business. trinamiX Managing Director Sören Bauermann will remain on the board.

trinamiX employs 200 people and holds more than 800 patents and patent applications.

The startup broke new ground in 3D cameras used in facial authentication for smartphones, as well as infrared technology. It created a spectrometer that uses infrared light that differentiates between materials. Its materials-classification software could then be combined with facial recognition to verify that a real person is standing before a camera.

In 2022, it obtained its first biometric certifications and presented a complete biometric authentication . The firm has since developed authentication sensors that can be integrated beneath a smartphone’s display and biometric cameras that can be placed on the outside of a car.

At the recent CES 2026, trinamiX unveiled a wide-field-of-view dot projector designed for driver monitoring functions that covers both the driver and the front passenger with a single module. The near-infrared camera tracks vital signs, recognizes seatbelts through material detection, and can deploy airbags through 3D distance mapping.

Trinamix also showcased a face authentication solution that can be integrated into the B-pillar of a car, which relies on biometric imaging technology known as Beam Profile Analysis. The solution combines 2D facial recognition with a liveness check, Automotive World reports.

Article Topics

3D facial authentication  |  biometrics  |  face biometrics  |  facial authentication  |  trinamiX