WISeKey International Holding Signs MOU with Indian Investors to Establish a Joint Venture (WISeKey India) to Expand IoT and Cybersecurity in the Indian Market

WISeKey International Holding Ltd (WIHN.SW) (“WISeKey”) and a group of successful entrepreneurs having built and sold multiple companies in India and US announced today that they have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (“MoU”) to establish a Joint Venture to deploy WISeKey IoT and Cybersecurity Platform to the Indian Market.

WISeKey reached an agreement that would result in the localization of WISeKey’s Cybersecurity Platform in India to serve several markets such as IoT, Cybersecurity and Authentication of objects. This will grant Indian customers – both individuals and organizations – trusted identities for IoT objects and mobiles, enabling them to complete secure online transactions with confidence, trust the identities of others, and the identities of the IoT infrastructure on which the transactions run via localized Root of Trust to serve the Indian Ecosystem. Some of the segments that will benefit from the WiseKey platform are telecom, manufacturing and retail including e-commerce.

Certain terms of the WISeKey India Joint Venture remain subject to final approval by all parties and should be concluded soon and expected to be announced in October at the Indian Economic Summit.

The WISeKey India Joint Venture incorporation and deployment includes the development of a full Root of Trust and Public Key Infrastructure (“PKI”) for WISeKey India including a globally trusted Certification Authority under the “Digital India Vision,” a campaign launched by the Government of India that has taken major initiatives to make the country e-ready by initiating various e-governance implementations across the country like automation of income tax, passport, Company Law, e-procurement and bidding etc. Public Key Infrastructure forms the backbone for all these initiatives.

As per the terms of the Joint Venture, WISeKey will create a WISeKey Cryptographic Root of Trust in India for IoT manufacturers and chipmakers allowing them to add digital certificates on their chips at the hardware level to encrypt the communication and authenticate the devices. The first project is already under development for the use of semiconductors IoT Chips and Asymmetric Keys to authenticate a very large number of products to be deployed in the country.

WISeKey is currently deploying large scale IoT digital identities for objects including watches, sensors, mobile phones, laptops and wearables using its Cryptographic Root of Trust and VaultIC© Semiconductors IoT technology. This trusted technology integrates wearable technology with secure authentication and identification, in both physical and virtual environments, and empowers IoT and wearable devices to become secure transactional devices. WISeKey has patented this process in the USA as it is currently used by many IoT providers (for more information visit: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1=wisekey&OS=wisekey&RS=wisekey).

The Root of Trust (“RoT”) serves as a common trust anchor, which is recognized by the operating system (“OS”) and applications, to ensure the authenticity, confidentiality and integrity of on-line transactions. With the Cryptographic Root of Trust embedded on the device, the IoT product manufacturers can use code-signing certificates and a cloud-based signature-as-a-service to secure interactions among objects and between objects and people.

At the heart of this strategy is the OISTE-WISeKey Cryptographic Root of Trust which has been actively used since 1999 by over 2.6 billion desktops, browsers, mobile devices, SSL certificates and Internet of Things’ devices. The OISTE WISeKey Cryptographic Root of Trust is ubiquitous and universal, and a pioneer in the identification of objects.

It is estimated that the global wearable market will grow at an annual rate of 35% over the next five years. The rapid growth of the number of connected devices is driving the shift from the current traditional mobile payment method to highly secure transactions from wearable devices using trusted communications and authentication technology. WISeKey’s Cryptographic Root of Trust and NFCTrusted© technology enables these wearable devices to connect safely and make secure payments and other transactions.

WISeKey India will also deploy a private-label mobile application and service platform that provides Near Field Communication (NFC) payment functions, pre-paid services capabilities, e-coupons, targeted advertising, as well as the management of and access to personal data by users.

Carlos Moreira, Founder and CEO of WISeKey said, “We are thrilled to sign this MoU and establish WISeKey India Joint Venture which will serve as the trusted IoT infrastructure the country requires to provide millions of people and billions of objects with an interoperable ‘environment’ for identification, authentication, and authorization during the course of online transactions. This cooperation goes in line with WISeKey’s commitment to the World Economic Forum and Clinton Global Initiative (http://goo.gl/F0RW3) to provide one billion digital identities by 2017.”

Gary Gauba, serial entrepreneurs with three successful exits in India and US to Fortune 500 companies ,who also serves on the board of WISeKey North America commented: “The establishment of Indian Root of Trust and Public Key infrastructure by WISeKey India will dramatically increase the confidence in individual as well as organizations to conduct online transactions“.

About WISeKey

WISeKey (SIX Swiss Exchange: WIHN) is a leading cybersecurity company and selected as a World Economic Forum Global Growth Company. WISeKey is currently deploying large scale Internet of Things (“IoT”) digital identity ecosystems and has become a pioneer of the “4th Industrial Revolution” movement launched this year at the World Economic Forum in Davos. WISeKey’s Swiss based cryptographic Root of Trust (“RoT”) integrates wearable technology with secure authentication and identification, in both physical and virtual environments, and empowers IoT and wearable devices to become secure transactional devices. The RoT serves as a common trust anchor, which is recognized by the operating system and applications, to ensure the authenticity, confidentiality and integrity of on-line transactions. With the cryptographic RoT embedded on the device, the IoT product manufacturers can use code-signing certificates and a cloud-based signature as a service to secure interactions among objects and between objects and people. WISeKey has patented this process in the USA as it is currently used by many IoT providers.

http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1=wisekey&OS=wisekey&RS=wisekey).

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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Contact information

WISeKey:
Youmna Abisaleh, +41 22 594 30 40
Marketing Communications
yabisaleh@wisekey.com
or
Investor Relations (United States)
The Equity Group, Inc.
Lena Cati, 212 836-9611
lcati@equityny.com