UPEK

UPEK's business model centered on providing end-to-end, integrated biometric solutions for a diverse clientele that included consumer, industrial, and government sectors. The company's revenue was generated through the sale of its authentication hardware and licensing of its software suites. Its primary clients were major original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), with its sensors being integrated into laptops from four of the top five global PC makers, such as Dell, IBM/Lenovo, Sony, and Toshiba. Beyond the PC market, its technology was embedded in a wide array of devices including USB flash drives, external hard drives, mobile phones, and physical access control systems from partners like HID. By 2010, the company had reported revenues of $18 million for the 2009 fiscal year.

The product portfolio included silicon-based fingerprint sensors and comprehensive software. UPEK's main hardware products were the 'TouchChip' area sensor and the 'TouchStrip' swipe sensor, which utilized capacitive technology to read a fingerprint's ridges and valleys from direct contact with the silicon chip. These sensors were engineered for robustness, with polymer coatings to protect against electrostatic discharge and repetitive use. A key technological differentiator was the use of "live-layer" or HD3D sensing, which read below the skin's surface to the live tissue layer, enhancing security and countering spoofing attempts. On the software side, UPEK offered solutions like the 'Eikon Digital Privacy Manager' and 'Protector Suite', which enabled users to replace passwords with a fingerprint swipe for logging into computers, accessing websites, and encrypting files. A significant milestone was the company's merger with AuthenTec in September 2010, which created the world's largest provider of fingerprint sensors and identity management software at the time. This event marked the conclusion of UPEK's operations as an independent entity, with its technology and extensive patent portfolio being absorbed into the combined company.