WISeKey Releases CEO Letter to
Shareholders
Zug, Switzerland – August
17, 2021:
Ad-Hoc announcement pursuant to Art. 53 of
SIX Listing Rules – WISeKey International Holding Ltd
(NASDAQ: WKEY / SIX: WIHN) (“WISeKey” or the “Company”), a leading
cybersecurity and IoT company, today released a letter to
shareholders from Carlos Moreira, WISeKey’s Founder and CEO.
Dear Shareholders:
I am pleased to take this opportunity to
summarize our recent business developments and significant
achievements during the first half of the year (“H1 2021”).
Although the COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly impacted our end
markets by disrupting the supply chains and creating substantial
shortages in the semiconductor sector, we were able to overcome
most of these challenges. For the first half of 2021, we delivered
better-than-expected results with revenue
of $9.9 million, up
by 24% as compared to H1 2020 revenue of
$8.0 million. Furthermore, we are on
track to deliver revenue
of $22
million for full
year 2021 which would represent an
increase by over 45% as compared to our full year 2020 revenue, as
the Company diversified its IoT and AI revenue.
At the start of 2021, WISeKey
completed the acquisition
of a controlling interest
in arago GmbH (“arago”), leading to a
combination of the businesses of WISeKey and arago and the
consolidation of arago revenues starting February 2021. arago
provides AI solutions to enterprise customers globally through
Knowledge Automation. The Knowledge Automation and Data platform
HIRO™, developed by arago, takes a unique approach to process
automation by using AI to autonomously and independently determine
how to complete and then automate end-to-end tasks based on real
time contextual data. This acquisition created a new revenue stream
for the Company and the opportunity to move into the Artificial
Intelligence of Things (“AIoT”) market with combine its
cybersecurity/authentication and AI Knowledge Automation offerings.
Since February 2021, WISeKey invested an additional of
$4.3 million cash into the arago operations, bringing our
total investment to $9.8 million (since the initial investment made
in late 2020).
WISeKey maintains a strong balance sheet with
cash and cash equivalents increasing to
$38.5 million at
June 30,
2021, thanks to new financing agreements signed
with global Institutional Investors at the end of June 2021, as
compared to cash and cash equivalents together with restricted cash
of $17.4 million at June 30, 2020, and $21.8 million at
December 31, 2020. This improved financial position enables us to
make significant investments in R&D to finance
our growth initiatives into AIoT,
and new microchips design in
order to maintain our leading-edge technology position and the
competitive advantage of our product offerings. At the same time,
we continue to manage our costs, capital expenditures and working
capital to maintain a positive free cash flow position. As part of
this strategy, following the acquisition of arago, we took
urgent and decisive actions to reduce
the operational costs of arago and
streamline their processes with significant reductions in
G&A.
Since the beginning of the year, WISeKey has
secured several major wins for its microchip semiconductor-based
IoT technology, anti-counterfeiting, brand protection, EMV payment
card and secure access products in the U.S. market with
leading providers of networking equipment, medical devices, smart
building solutions, and financial services.
The U.S. IoT revenue generated by the WISeKey
Semiconductors division located in South of France, should be
considered strategic premium revenue, especially following the
semiconductor manufacturing shortage in the U.S., which has become
a strategic reference market for the Company. Because
semiconductors are a crucial component of the 4th Industrial
Revolution, strategic technologies (from smart cities, renewable
energy and artificial intelligence to robots and cybersecurity),
their design and manufacturing has become a geopolitical issue. In
the 20th century, oil was the supreme global resource, but
shortages accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic have prompted a 21st
century catchphrase among policymakers and diplomats…
“semiconductors are the new oil.”
We are also anticipating the future by investing
in technology innovations such as the development of our NFT
platform and the expansion of our AI automation capabilities.
WISeKey’s WISe.ART NFT platform was developed following a series of
market tests, selling high value NFTs and testing the appetite of
the art and collectible community, an exclusive and
high-volume marketplace. Following the needs of buyers
and sellers of high-value goods, the WISe.ART platform is
a fully fledged marketplace with its own digital currency, and
offers the ability to include curators and multipliers,
white-labeling options and a special NFT design.
As anticipated, cybersecurity companies like
WISeKey with strong technology-IP assets are recovering much faster
from the current crisis due to the ability to diversify sales from
Semiconductors to Cybersecurity and/or AI/Automation. Overall,
continued adoption of IoT technologies connected to secure clouds,
AI and ultimately 5G, will be tremendous catalysts for
cybersecurity companies given the related risk of adoption. Our
objective is to create a truly representative European internet
platform through the vertical integration of WISeKey’s unique Root
of Trust and identity technology with VaultIC’s hardware &
software, and trust services. This strategy is gradually
positioning WISeKey to be the first ever European comprehensive AI
trusted end-to-end cybersecurity platform for people and objects
(IoT).
We are sensitive that our share price is
currently underperforming and that there is a significant level of
short interest in our stock. We firmly believe that the actions we
have taken year-to-date will drive shareholder value as we deliver
on our 2021 full year objectives. Also once the integration plan
with arago matures, it should result in the realization of
additional revenue streams across a diversified portfolio of
clients.
Due to our team’s experience, leading
technology, and our dedication to the cybersecurity business, we
have emerged from the pandemic stronger than ever.
Furthermore, due to our solid Cybersecurity/IoT
revenue pipeline of over $250 million (for 2022-2027 period), and a
growth strategy that includes additional investments and increased
marketing efforts, we believe that we have positioned WISeKey well
to take advantage of several growth opportunities, create new
revenue streams and continue its growth organically and through
acquisitions.
Respectfully, Carlos MoreiraFounder and
CEOWISeKey International Holdings
About WISeKey
WISeKey (NASDAQ: WKEY; SIX Swiss Exchange: WIHN) is a leading
global cybersecurity company currently deploying large scale
digital identity ecosystems for people and objects using
Blockchain, AI and IoT respecting the Human as the Fulcrum of the
Internet. WISeKey microprocessors secure the pervasive computing
shaping today’s Internet of Everything. WISeKey IoT has an install
base of over 1.5 billion microchips in virtually all IoT sectors
(connected cars, smart cities, drones, agricultural sensors,
anti-counterfeiting, smart lighting, servers, computers, mobile
phones, crypto tokens etc.). WISeKey is uniquely positioned
to be at the edge of IoT as our semiconductors produce a huge
amount of Big Data that, when analyzed with Artificial Intelligence
(AI), can help industrial applications to predict the failure of
their equipment before it happens.Our technology is Trusted by the
OISTE/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.
Press and investor contacts:
WISeKey
International Holding LtdCompany Contact: Carlos
MoreiraChairman & CEOTel: +41 22 594
3000info@wisekey.com |
WISeKey Investor
Relations (US)Contact: Lena CatiThe Equity Group
Inc.Tel: +1 212 836-9611lcati@equityny.com |
Disclaimer:This communication expressly or
implicitly contains certain forward-looking statements concerning
WISeKey International Holding Ltd and its business. Such statements
involve certain known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other
factors, which could cause the actual results, financial condition,
performance, or achievements of WISeKey International Holding Ltd
to be materially different from any future results, performance or
achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking
statements. WISeKey International Holding Ltd is providing this
communication as of this date and does not undertake to update any
forward-looking statements contained herein as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise.This press release does not
constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy,
any securities, and it does not constitute an offering prospectus
within the meaning of article 652a or article 1156 of the Swiss
Code of Obligations or a listing prospectus within the meaning of
the listing rules of the SIX Swiss Exchange. Investors must rely on
their own evaluation of WISeKey and its securities, including the
merits and risks involved. Nothing contained herein is, or shall be
relied on as, a promise or representation as to the future
performance of WISeKey.
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