Stockholm-based Tobii, a provider of hardware and software solutions for eye tracking, announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire Belgium-based Phasya, a company that provides software for monitoring physiological and cognitive states that influence human behaviour.
With this development, Tobii will pay a maximum purchase price of around €4M, of which around €2M is contingent on performance over the coming five years. Tobii intends to pay for the acquisition in cash using existing funds. The acquisition is expected to close on August 6, 2021.
What does Phasya offer?
Phasya is a University of Liege spin-off, founded in December 2014. The company specialises in software for monitoring physiological and cognitive states. Its founders Clementine Francois and Jerome Wertz are on a mission to improve safety, performance, user experience, and well-being of people interacting with equipment and contents.
Phasya’s AI-based software analyses biometric signals such as eye-tracking or heart rate to monitor cognitive states, including drowsiness, cognitive load, and distraction. The company’s algorithms are necessary components in all Driver Monitoring Systems (DMS), to understand the driver states impacting safety, driving experience, and comfort.
The company’s solutions can also be deployed within industries such as aviation, rail, and consumer electronics. Phasya has been supported by the WSL incubator and several investors such as Gesval, ScaleFund, Noshaq, W.IN.G and Be Angels members.
Brief about Tobii
Founded in 2001 by Henrik Eskilsson, John Elvesjo, and Marten Skogo, Tobii is a provider of hardware and software solutions for eye tracking; a technology that enables one to detect eye orientation, and thus the object of the gaze.
The company’s mission is to bring eye tracking into broader use in applications such as eye control interfaces for computers, design testing, and medical diagnostics. Eye tracking is a sensor technology that makes it possible for a computer or other device to know where a person is looking. An eye tracker can detect the presence, attention and focus of the user. It allows for insights into human behaviour and facilitates natural user interfaces in a broad range of devices. The ability to control a computer using the eyes is also vital for people who are unable to speak or use their hands.
Tobii is headquartered in Sweden and is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm (TOBII). The group has over 1,000 employees.
Aim of this acquisition
With this development, Phasya’s technology will enhance Tobii’s Driver Monitoring System, Tobii DMS, which was announced today. It also opens new opportunities for using cognitive state information in several markets, such as VR, AR, scientific research, and gaming, providing substantial synergies.
According to the company, Tobii DMS is an AI-based attention computing technology that delivers key data points about driver attention and drowsiness, enhancing traffic safety and deepening the intuitiveness of vehicle interfaces.
For developing Tobii DMS, the Swedish company, apart from acquiring Phasya, has entered into new collaborations with Tier-1 suppliers and OEM customers as well as new commercial partnerships with Sunny SmartLead and Nviso.
Currently, Phasya is in its early pre-revenue commercialisation phase. Hence, by leveraging its resources and capabilities, Tobii will be able to accelerate the commercialisation of Phasya’s offering.
Speaking on the acquisition, Henrik Eskilsson, CEO of Tobii, says, “Tobii and Phasya are a perfect strategic fit. By combining two strong teams with complementary expertise, products, and customer relationships, we will unlock significant synergies. We welcome the Phasya team to the Tobii family and look forward to pushing the boundaries for attention computing in Automotive, VR, AR, gaming and other markets.”
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