WISeKey Strengthens its Smart Card Reader Chips Business for Healthcare Applications and Renews Agreement with HID Global, an ASSA ABLOY Company

Rhea-AI Summary

WISeKey has renewed its supply agreement with HID Global, part of ASSA ABLOY, to provide smart card reader chips for healthcare applications. In 2022, WISeKey will supply high-end chips for the OMNIKEY® product range, enhancing security in access management across various industries. The smart card market is projected to grow significantly, reaching $16.9 billion by 2026, driven by the demand for secure identification technologies. WISeKey's advanced semiconductor solutions and long-standing relationship with HID Global position it well in this expanding market.

Positive

• Renewal of supply agreement with HID Global indicates strong partnership stability.
• Targeting high-growth sectors such as healthcare, finance, and pharmaceuticals.
• Smart card market projected to reach $16.9 billion by 2026, presenting growth opportunities.
• WISeKey's technology has a robust positioning in secure identification and access management.

Negative

• None.

WISeKey Strengthens its Smart Card Reader Chips Business for Healthcare Applications and Renews Agreement with HID Global, an ASSA ABLOY Company

Geneva, Switzerland – November 19, 2021: Ad-Hoc announcement pursuant to Art. 53 of SIX Listing Rules - WISeKey International Holding Ltd (“WISeKey,” SIX: WIHN / Nasdaq: WKEY), a leading global Semi-conductor, AI and IoT company, announced today that it is renewing its supply business agreement for Smart card readers with HID Global, one of the global leaders in this field belonging to the ASSA ABLOY group. In 2022, WISeKey will be supplying HID Global with high-end smart card reader chips, to be used for the OMNIKEY^® card readers product range, targeting applications in healthcare, pharmaceutical, financial services etc. and used by public or private organizations seeking high security and performance in access management. (Link to the Nasdaq Tower video is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIfrFSiA-t4).

“Properly implemented smart cards in all sectors have proven highly effective in reducing fraud and securing infrastructures and services. The growing security concerns, particularly within the public sphere, are propelling the growth of smart card readers’ market. WISeKey is well positioned to respond to this surging demand with its range of reader chips,” said Bernard Vian, General Manager for WISeKey Semiconductors. “We are thrilled and honored of the renewed confidence by our long-term partner HID Global, that rewards our commitment to provide high quality services and products to our clients.”

“Market evolution confirms that identification and authentication technologies are providing differentiating advantages on projects requiring high security. With the OMNIKEY® readers and reader modules, HID Global helps organizations maintain security and efficiency by allowing only authorized accesses across different physical and digital spaces — all while ensuring compliance to stringent regulations. We are delighted with this long-term partnership to offer our clients and partners secure and easy-to-integrate OMNIKEY® products blending seamlessly into their technical and structural environment,” said Thierry Roz, Managing Director of RFID Business Unit, Extended Access Technologies, HID Global.

According to Market & Markets, the smart card market is projected to reach $16.9 billion by 2026 from $13.9 billion in 2021 with 75% of the value generated by cards & readers. The robust financial system that is being increasingly digitized and government agencies incorporating smart chip-based systems for better monitoring of processes are propelling several countries to adopt smart card solutions, specifically in the transportation, BFSI, retail, government, and healthcare sectors. In addition to information security, smart card-based systems ensure greater security of services and equipment by restricting access to only authorized users. Thus, the security & access control segments are projected to grow at the highest CAGR of the smart card market.

Powered by more than 20 years of design and research experience in secure products for the smart card industry (including Banking), WISeKey’s comprehensive and highly competitive portfolio of Smart Card Reader chips enables customers to obtain secure, high-performance chips for virtually any market segment from a single vendor. WISeKey and its ecosystem of partners offers hardware platforms alone and with integrated third-party applications, allowing customers to quickly build smart card readers without requiring custom development. Based on 8/16-bit RISC processors, WISeKey’s Smart Card Reader chips are EMV-CO compliant and equipped with DC/DC for a wide compatibility. WISeKey products are recognized today by industry leading OEMs, such as HID Global, that leverage these chips unique capabilities to combine outstanding product performance with fast time to market.

An illustration is the OMNIKEY^® product range, which embeds Wisekey chips for several of its models and has been designed by HID Global to support any smart card for any application on any computer. They are certified to all relevant industry standards including PC/SC, WHQL, USB CCID, EMV 2000, Common Criteria and ensure world-wide compliance and easy integration in any system. The latest reader has an integrated cryptographic module supporting enhanced security schemes such as Secure Identity Object™ (SIO).

To learn more about WISeKey’s Card readers and security solutions, visit
https://www.wisekey.com/products-services/secure-semiconductors/smart-card-readers/

The HID Global and OMNIKEY trademarks are owned by ASSA ABLOY.

Press and investor contacts:

WISeKey:

Carlos Moreira         WISeKey Investor Relations (US)
Chairman & CEO         Lena Cati
info@wisekey.com         lcati@equityny.com
Tel. +41 22 594 3000         Tel. +1 212 836-9611

About WISeKey
WISeKey (NASDAQ: WKEY; SIX Swiss Exchange: WIHN) is a leading global cybersecurity company currently deploying large scale digital identity ecosystems for people and objects using Blockchain, AI and IoT respecting the Human as the Fulcrum of the Internet. WISeKey microprocessors secure the pervasive computing shaping today’s Internet of Everything. WISeKey IoT has an install base of over 1.6 billion microchips in virtually all IoT sectors (connected cars, smart cities, drones, agricultural sensors, anti-counterfeiting, smart lighting, servers, computers, mobile phones, crypto tokens etc.). WISeKey is uniquely positioned to be at the edge of IoT as our semiconductors produce a huge amount of Big Data that, when analyzed with Artificial Intelligence (AI), can help industrial applications to predict the failure of their equipment before it happens.

Our technology is Trusted by the OISTE/WISeKey’s Swiss based cryptographic Root of Trust (“RoT”) provides secure authentication and identification, in both physical and virtual environments, for the Internet of Things, Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence. The WISeKey RoT serves as a common trust anchor to ensure the integrity of online transactions among objects and between objects and people. For more information, visit www.wisekey.com.

Disclaimer:
This communication expressly or implicitly contains certain forward-looking statements concerning WISeKey International Holding Ltd and its business. Such statements involve certain known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which could cause the actual results, financial condition, performance or achievements of WISeKey International Holding Ltd to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. WISeKey International Holding Ltd is providing this communication as of this date and does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements contained herein as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any securities, and it does not constitute an offering prospectus within the meaning of article 652a or article 1156 of the Swiss Code of Obligations or a listing prospectus within the meaning of the listing rules of the SIX Swiss Exchange. Investors must rely on their own evaluation of WISeKey and its securities, including the merits and risks involved. Nothing contained herein is, or shall be relied on as, a promise or representation as to the future performance of WISeKey.

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FAQ

What is the significance of WISeKey's agreement with HID Global?

WISeKey's renewed agreement with HID Global reinforces their partnership and positions WISeKey to supply smart card reader chips for various high-security applications.

What markets are targeted by WISeKey's smart card reader chips?

WISeKey aims to serve healthcare, financial services, and pharmaceutical sectors with its smart card reader chips.

What is the projected growth of the smart card market?

The smart card market is projected to grow from $13.9 billion in 2021 to $16.9 billion by 2026.

What does the OMNIKEY® product range offer?

The OMNIKEY® product range integrates WISeKey's chips and supports secure access management across multiple applications and systems.

How does WISeKey's technology enhance security?

WISeKey's smart card technology reduces fraud and secures infrastructures by ensuring that only authorized users have access to critical services.