Synaptics has announced a new partnership with OXi Technology, an optical fingerprint technology developer based in Shanghai. The agreement will see the companies work together on optical fingerprint sensors for the mobile and PC markets.
The deal will see Synaptics take a minority stake in OXi shares, which it expects to complete “within a few weeks,” according to a statement. OXi, meanwhile, will welcome a Synaptics appointee to its Board of Directors.
The move comes at the same time as Synaptics’ unveiling of its Natural ID FS9100 line of optical fingerprint sensors designed to scan through up to a millimeter of cover glass. It’s an area the company clearly wants to explore further, with CEO Rick Bergman commenting that the OXi partnership represents another step toward “the removal of the home button” and the emergence of “cleaner industrial designs for smartphones.”
It’s an ambition shared with other mobile fingerprint sensor specialists like Fingerprint Cards, which has just brought under-glass sensors to market via new Huawei smartphones; and VKANSEE, which is working to develop under-glass optical sensors in collaboration with software partner Precise Biometrics.
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