WISeKey Semiconductors Receives US Patent for a Dual-mode

 WISeKey Semiconductors Receives US Patent for a Dual-mode anti-counterfeiting NFC IoT Tag for Smart Bottles (Wine, Liqueurs, Perfume, Pharma, Cosmetics etc.)

A full description link to patent is available at http://goo.gl/ozgOQm

Geneva, Switzerland/New York, USA - August 22, 2018 - WISeKey International Holding Ltd ("WISeKey"), (SIX: WIHN; OTCQX: WIKYY) a cybersecurity IoT platform company, today announced that it has received a new U.S. patent. No. 7,898,422 for an anti-counterfeiting NFC device integrated in a bottle (Smart Bottle Patent). The device is designed and strategically placed inside the bottle so that the insertion of a corkscrew or a capsule, damages the antenna or the control microcircuit.

When the device is intact, it can be interrogated remotely by an NFC reader to retrieve information on the product, and also to confirm the authenticity of the information. When the cork has been removed, the NFC device is damaged, so that the cork or capsule cannot be reused to authenticate the content of a new bottle Smart bottles - the technologically advanced bottles that encompass wireless communication capabilities for connecting with computing devices such as smartphones or wearables and an artificial memory that helps provide alerts through display or sound system - are the most popular products in the world's technology-obsessed circles. With applications presently spanning across the drinking water, pharmaceutical, and alcoholic beverages sectors, smart bottles are increasingly gaining traction and are observing vast developments in terms of innovation and technology advances.

Transparency Market Research estimates that the global smart bottle market, which was pegged at US$88.6 million in 2016, will reach US$258.8 million by 2024, registering a CAGR of 14.3% between 2016 and 2024.

Carlos Moreira, WISeKey's CEO noted, "Our U.S. Smart Bottle Patent will give us access to the North American smart bottle market.  Due to strong technology embedded manufacturing capabilities, the North American market currently has the dominant share in the global market (approximately $40 million) and is expected to continue to rapidly grow over the next several years."

Counterfeiting of pharmaceutical, cosmetic, wine, spirits and water bottles, is a rampant and growing problem-especially in some Asian countries, where it is estimated that up to 50 percent of the products sold in these categories might be fake. The fraudulent refilling of bottles negatively impacts the industry as a whole and can be especially damaging to the revenues and brand reputation of targeted labels. Ensuring continued consumer confidence is key to success for high-end brands.

The new Smart Bottle patent helps brands stop bottle refilling fraud. Using a tamper-proof capsule with embedded chip, the WISeKey Smart Bottle Tag enables consumers and dealers to verify the authenticity of bottles and its contents before purchase by scanning the label with a NFC (Near Field Communication)-enabled smartphone or device. Additionally, WISeKey Smart Bottle Tag allows brands to globally track their products and engage with consumers at the point of sale and beyond to build brand loyalty.

To date, alternative anti-counterfeiting bottle solutions have been largely ineffective because counterfeiters have been able to replicate or circumvent the security features meant to deter fraud. In a cost-effective manner, WISeKey Smart Bottle Tag offers brand the only solution that is based upon Common Criteria (EAL4+) for object identification and FIPS 140-2, meaning the solution provides the same level of digital security trusted by banks, the U.S. Department of Defense and l'ANSSI in France.

WISeKey has aggregated over 46 IoT patent families (more than 200 patents in total) to its portfolio (https://www.wisekey.com/patents/) required to power the WISeKey IoT Platform. For WISeKey, adding to its patent portfolio and intellectual property is key to ensuring that the company will remain a major player in the IoT Industry for years to come as company focuses on integrating unique technology that is differentiated, protected and hard to reproduce based on tangible scientific discoveries or engineering innovations.

The IoT Industry is a game changer new business segment for WISeKey.  An estimated 50 billion IoT devices are expected to be connected by 2020, while world's population is estimated to grow to 6.8 billion; thus, there will be more than 7 IoT devices per person connected to the internet by 2020. As a result, it is anticipated that this year already the number of IoT devices will surpass the number of mobile devices. By 2021, it is expected 1.8 billion PCs, 8.6 billion mobile devices, and 15.7 billion IoT devices; by 2035, the amount of data usage is expected to grow more than 2,400 times, from 1 exabyte to 2.3 zettabytes.  A huge and increasing amount of sensitive data that will need to be protected by the IoT chips produced by WISeKey will be interchanged between connected devices and back-end servers, allowing companies to provide users with new type of applications. These applications will be designed to offer increased control over the use of resources, improve efficiency in power grids, optimize processing of information in industrial environments, secure autonomous vehicles, provide better and higher quality healthcare services and personalized experience for shopping or leisure, among others.

About WISeKey:

WISeKey (SIX: WIHN; OTCQX: WIKYY) is a leading global cybersecurity company currently deploying large scale digital identity ecosystems with a patented process. 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.

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