WISeKey Strengthens Smart Card Reader Chips Business and Renews Agreement with U.S. Leader Identiv

March 28, 2022

Original release syndicated via WISeKey. WISeKey International Holding Ltd (“WISeKey,” SIX: WIHN / Nasdaq: WKEY), a leading global Semi-Conductor, Blockchain and IoT company, announced today that it is renewing and expanding its business in smart card readers with Identiv (Nasdaq: INVE), the US leading player in identity and access control. In 2022, WISeKey will be supplying Identiv with high-end smart card reader chips for over $1 Million value. The partnership extends to Identiv’s contact, contactless, and dual-interface smart card readers, targeting applications in healthcare, pharmaceuticals, government, and education. Public and private organizations use Identiv’s identity verification devices when seeking the highest security and performance in access management. “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 Identiv that rewards our commitment to provide high quality services and products to our clients.” WISeKey chip technology is built into a selection of Identiv’s contact, contactless, and dual-interface smart card reader/writer product portfolio. The latest offering is uTrust 3700 IG, an IP-rated, industrial-grade contactless and near field communication (NFC) smart card reader created for industrial facilities, clean room environments, and the healthcare space. The reader simplifies complex logins, protects valuable time, and strengthens data security. “We have seen tremendous growth in identification and verification technology in healthcare, pharmaceuticals, government, and education over the past year, and we expect the demand to continue to grow,” said Manfred Mueller, Identiv COO and GM Identity. “Collaborating with chip manufacturers like WISeKey allows us to make the strongest data security more convenient for the industries that need it most, especially in the healthcare segment. Our technology lets clinicians focus their time and attention on patients, not complex logins.” Identiv's smart card reader and logical access control technology identifies and verifies users to safely and securely access data. Multi-factor authentication and passwordless experiences provide the strongest cybersecurity, while remote authentication, multi-factor authentication, and embedded application solutions protect data on-the-go, in the office, or at home. 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 and 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 and 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 Identiv, that leverage these chips’ unique capabilities to combine outstanding product performance with fast time to market. To learn more about WISeKey’s Card readers and security solutions, visit wisekey.com/products-services/secure-semiconductors/smart-card-readers.

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 https://www.wisekey.com/.

About Identiv

Identiv, Inc. is a global leader in digitally securing the physical world. Identiv’s platform encompasses RFID and NFC, cybersecurity, and the full spectrum of physical access, video, and audio security. Identiv is a publicly traded company, and its common stock is listed on the NASDAQ Stock Market LLC in the U.S. under the symbol “INVE.” For more information, visit identiv.com.