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Kyocera backs TactoTek with $5m

Kyocera backs TactoTek with $5m

Business news |
By Nick Flaherty



Kyocera is backing Finnish In-Mold Structural Electronics (IMSE) developer TactoTek with $5m as part of the current $60m funding round.

Kyocera is embedded its Haptivity I piezoceramic actuators within IMSE parts to combine force sensing and tactile feedback. Force sensing activates capacitive touch interfaces with intent, while tactile feedback confirms actions by feel. As a TactoTek licensee, Kyocera has integrated its components within IMSE human-machine interface (HMI) surfaces. The result is human machine interface (HMI) devices that are thin, light, and tactile.

“With Haptivity, Kyocera fulfills the intent of TactoTek’s licensing model—enabling our partners to combine IMSE technology with their own strengths to secure and extend their market position,” said Jussi Harvela, CEO at TactoTek. “Kyocera’s significant investment in TactoTek’s current financing round reflects the market potential of IMSE technologies, including Kyocera’s current customers and prospects.”

“The use of capacitive touch switches in HMIs has become common, and the market demand for tactile sensation is growing. On the other hand, conventional technology has not been able to make it thinner and lighter with tactile functions.” said Masafumi Ikeuchi, executive officer of Kyocera. “Haptivity is the world’s first technology to successfully add a tactile function to an HMI while maintaining a thin and light design by encapsulating piezo ceramics with resin using IMSE technology. IMSE also opened the possibility of integrating piezo ceramics and Kyocera’s extensive product range.”

The funding round was led by Nidoco AB, part of Virala Group with strategic investors including Cornes Technologies, Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Company, European Investment Bank, Finnish Industry Investment Ltd, 3M Ventures, Ingman Group, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Conor Venture Partners, and Turret Oy Ab and several private investors & employees.

TactoTek teams for automotive 3D molded electronics

“This investment marks a significant milestone for TactoTek,” said Jussi Harvela, CEO of TactoTek. “Our collaborations with industry leaders such as Kyocera, Gentex, Polestar, Valeo, LS Automotive, Yanfeng, and most German Premium Automotive OEMs, validate the transformative potential of our IMSE technology. IMSE is being used to improve products and concurrently decarbonize manufacturing at scale across multiple industries. With this funding TactoTek will accelerate the adoption of IMSE globally by expanding customer-facing operations and streamlining IMSE solution design by augmenting our software-based delivery system with AI elements and plug-ins for CAD and simulation packages.”

The funding has led to a restructure of the board of directors with new chair Anders Dahlblom who is currently COO at Virala, an industrial conglomerate.

“We have an elite Board of Directors ideally suited to support TactoTek’s growth and the worldwide penetration of the company’s IMSE technology across multiple industries,” said Dahlblom. “With strong financial backing, an active and aligned Board of Directors, and an experienced operational team, the company is poised for rapid market expansion.”

The new Board of Directors includes Anders Stenbäck, a partner and co-founder at Good Ventures, as well as Kai Siebert, founding and Managing Partner of SKV Invest In Germany and a former C-level executive at Mercedes,

Kai Seikku, CEO of Okmetic and COO of the National Silicon Industry Group (NSIG) also joins the board alongside existing board member Jyrki Still, Chief Technology Officer at Detection Technology, a global leader in X-ray imaging solutions,

“IMSE technology provides unprecedented design freedom aligned with automotive market priorities, such as integrating innovative lighting and intuitive user controls directly into the structure of surface materials, and TactoTek has, by far, the most experience and a dominant intellectual property position,” said Siebert. “IMSE benefits extend far beyond automotive to current high scale industries such as smart home and industrial controls, and high growth markets such as robotics.”

www.tactotek.com

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