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Robert Bosch Venture Capital participates in US $20 million funding round of UltraSense Systems

Backing new touch user interface technology for mobile device, home appliance, automotive, industrial, and medical applications.

  • UltraSense’s 3D ultrasound technology turns any surface into a touch sensor, enabling new designs and ways of interacting with devices
  • RBVC Managing Director Dr. Ingo Ramesohl: “UltraSense’s technology is of strategic relevance for multiple Bosch products and can strengthen Bosch’s leadership in various sensing applications.”

Aron Bahnmüller >

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Stuttgart, Germany – Robert Bosch Venture Capital GmbH (RBVC), the corporate venture capital company of the Bosch group, has completed a series B investment in UltraSense Systems, a start-up based in San Jose, California.
Founded by a team of experts who have designed and delivered billions of sensors to the consumer electronics market, UltraSense has developed a 3D ultrasonic sensor that can detect touch through any material and virtually any thickness to turn surfaces into interfaces.

“UltraSense’s technology is of strong strategic relevance and can strengthen Bosch’s leadership in various sensing applications” says RBVC Managing Director Dr. Ingo Ramesohl. “Their solution creates new touch interface opportunities for multiple Bosch products like power tools, home appliances, or in automobiles.” The Series B funding round was led by Artiman Venture Capital and RBVC. Other investors include Sony Innovation Fund, Abies Ventures, Asahi Kasei Corporation, and Hui Capital.

Innovative technology for the future of human machine interfaces (HMI)

UltraSense's broad product line addresses mobile devices such as smartphones, consumer/IoT, automotive and industrial user interface requirements. The high-end smartphone market alone opens an opportunity for UltraSense of more than 1 billion sensors a year according to statista . The TouchPoint family of sensors is the world's smallest ultrasound system-on-a-chip delivering touch sensing from thin to thick surfaces through any material including metal, glass, wood, ceramic, or plastic. “With a number of the top mobile OEMs in active evaluations and deployment of our technology, we expect to see products in the market later this year,” says Mo Maghsoudnia, founder and CEO, UltraSense Systems. “This funding will enable faster execution and growth in addition to providing a better support for our strategic customers in the United States and greater Asia.” The sensors come in tiny package sizes and are designed to operate independent of a product's host processor with all the algorithm processing embedded in the sensor. It can be used as a standalone power button by powering-on the entire product with a simple touch or can be a multi-functional user interface using a series of taps, holds and swipes.

Robert Bosch Venture Capital GmbH (RBVC) is the corporate venture capital company of the Bosch Group, a leading global supplier of technology and services. RBVC invests worldwide in innovative start-up companies at all stages of their development. Its investment activities focus on technology companies working in areas of business of current and future relevance for Bosch, above all, automation and electrification, energy efficiency, enabling technologies, and healthcare systems. RBVC also invests in services and business models that are relevant to the above-mentioned areas of business. Furthermore, RBVC enables co-innovation between Bosch and startup through the Open Bosch Program.

Additional information is available at www.rbvc.com

About UltraSense
UltraSense Systems builds ultrasonic user experiences with precise, highly localized, buttonless interfaces that bring surfaces to life. Its TouchPoint product line enables customers to deliver seamless and natural interactions on any surface, including metal, glass, wood, ceramic and plastic. The company has created the world’s smallest ultrasound system-on-a-chip that can be used as a technology platform for delivering buttonless, new touch user interfaces in smartphones, consumer electronics, home appliances, automotive, IoT, industrial and medical markets.

http://ultrasensesys.com

The Bosch Group is a leading global supplier of technology and services. It employs roughly 428,000 associates worldwide (as of December 31, 2023). According to preliminary figures, the company generated sales of 91.6 billion euros in 2023. Its operations are divided into four business sectors: Mobility, Industrial Technology, Consumer Goods, and Energy and Building Technology. As a leading IoT provider, Bosch offers innovative solutions for smart homes, Industry 4.0, and connected mobility. Bosch is pursuing a vision of mobility that is sustainable, safe, and exciting. It uses its expertise in sensor technology, software, and services, as well as its own IoT cloud, to offer its customers connected, cross-domain solutions from a single source. The Bosch Group’s strategic objective is to facilitate connected living with products and solutions that either contain artificial intelligence (AI) or have been developed or manufactured with its help. Bosch improves quality of life worldwide with products and services that are innovative and spark enthusiasm. In short, Bosch creates technology that is “Invented for life.” The Bosch Group comprises Robert Bosch GmbH and its roughly 470 subsidiary and regional companies in over 60 countries. Including sales and service partners, Bosch’s global manufacturing, engineering, and sales network covers nearly every country in the world. The basis for the company’s future growth is its innovative strength. At 136 locations across the globe, Bosch employs some 90,000 associates in research and development, of which roughly 48,000 are software engineers.

Additional information is available online at www.bosch.com, www.iot.bosch.com, www.bosch-press.com.

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