AUGUST 8--Pass21 Co. Ltd. (Seoul, Korea; pass21.co.kr), an emerging biometric-authentication-solution provider in Korea, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire all assets of Veridicom Inc. (Santa Clara, CA), including its name. Veridicom, a spin-off from Lucent Technologies, was the leading provider of silicon fingerprint sensors, fingerprint-matching algorithms, peripherals, and authentication software before its fourth round of funding failed last February. Pass21 was a customer of Veridicom, embedding Veridicom's silicon fingerprint sensor in its Internet on-line authentication solution for Internet banking and other e-commerce applications and mobile phones to provide strong authentication for mobile commerce.
The transaction includes the ownership of all intellectual property and know-how related to making the silicon fingerprint sensors FPS110 and FPS200 and their derivative products; ownership of all fingerprint-matching algorithms and patents; ownership of Veridicom's authentication server technology; and ownership of its peripheral business and related patents. Sukkoo "Dave" Kim, CEO of Pass21, said, "We have long been impressed with Veridicom's technology. This presented us with an outstanding opportunity to combine the talent and vast intellectual property of Veridicom with the authentication technology and long-term vision of Pass21, where personal biometric authentication will play a key role in mobile commerce and the way we transact e-business using the Internet."
The transaction is expected to be complete by mid-August.
