Grant funding for fingerprint technology company

Backed by £27m of EU funds, SMARTCymru is helping businesses in Wales develop new products, processes and services by supporting increased investment in research, development and innovation.

The 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. 

Dr Mike Cowin, Chief Executive of Touch Biometrix, stated: “We’re delighted to have received this support from the Welsh Government and the EU. 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.”

Economy Secretary Ken Skates added: “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. As set out in my Economic Action Plan, I am committed to helping companies prepare for the challenges of the future in order to drive prosperity and economic growth, and this includes supporting innovation, research and development in the companies we work with. 

“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.” 

Based on proprietary sensor designs and algorithms the Touch Biometrix platform will enable fingerprint sensors of any shape or size. This enables a user authentication platform that can easily be integrated into a wide range of consumer electronics and smart objects for a more intuitive and secure user experience that promises to eliminate the need for passwords.

Touch Biometrix’s new manufacturing model has the potential to disrupt the market in terms of performance and cost, at less than $1 a unit. Fast, secure and impossible to spoof, the company’s technology will eliminate the need for passwords.

The market demand for fingerprint sensors is expected to exceed 1.7B units per year by 2020 with a market value growing to $15bn in 2024. It is expected that biometrics will be standard in 90% of mobile devices in the next four years generating 1.37 trillion mobile device transactions.