Who we are and why we’re engaging ourselves in this matter Crunchfish is a Swedish tech company that develops and markets interaction solutions for mobile payments in a physical environment. The solutions are primarily marketed to payment apps, cash register providers and merchants in Sweden and India, as well as to multinational companies. The company […]

Who we are and why we’re engaging ourselves in this matter

Crunchfish is a Swedish tech company that develops and markets interaction solutions for mobile payments in a physical environment. The solutions are primarily marketed to payment apps, cash register providers and merchants in Sweden and India, as well as to multinational companies. The company also develops interaction solutions based on gesture control and has integrated that technology into millions of smartphones currently on the market. Today, development of the gesture control technology is focused on smart AR glasses.

COVID-19 is a global crisis that, in one way or another, affects every single person on Earth. The only way that we will get through this crisis is by working together. In the context of COVID-19, we believe that we have technology that may be of great help. A crucial part of the fight against COVID-19 is tracing individuals that have been diagnosed with the disease and identifying the people they have had contact with. It is important to note that the purpose of this tracing is not to red-flag individuals with the disease, rather to identify patterns in the spread of the disease. This pattern recognition can then be used as a tool for governments and health agencies to decide which measures to take in order to limit the spread of COVID-19 in their society.

A great number of companies, governments and health agencies around the world are currently struggling to devise a comprehensive digital strategy for COVID-19 tracing and data collection. Crunchfish has specialized in mobile interaction solutions since 2010, and since 2014 has been working on proximity technology for mobile applications. Our efforts have led to several inventions and new strategies, for which we hold multiple patents, including for solutions that makes it possible to securely collect data from iOS users that are not using the app in the foreground. Several of these inventions have been granted patents and could be used for COVID-19 contact tracing, such as:

• A technology that enables passive iOS and Android users to always be awakened by means of sporadic and synchronous advertisement. This is important in order to be able to collect proximity data from users that have installed the app but are not actively using their mobile phones.
• A technology that enables proximity-based identification of mobile users belonging to a subgroup of mobile users.

Our suggested strategy and approach for COVID-19 tracing

For the specific purpose of COVID-19 tracing we propose the following approach. Make use of sporadic and synchronized advertising from Android users in passive and active mode and from iOS users in active mode. The reason we suggest that the advertising be sporadic and synchronized is to repeatedly be able to get iOS users in passive mode to scan. Please refer to some more details from our recent press release at the Decision to Grant US patent 10,551,472.

On Friday, April 10^th, Apple and Google jointly announced that they will partner to develop a COVID-19 contact tracing bluetooth framework in iOS and Android that will be made available to national health apps by mid-May. We strongly believe in the direction of Apple and Google to preserve users’ integrity to tokenize user identities. However, Crunchfish’s approach differs in other key areas, for example, we believe that central data aggregation is necessary for efficient COVID-19 tracing during this acute pandemic situation. The key differences are stated below:

Our proposal

In this acute pandemic situation Crunchfish is willing to allow developers for both national and international health apps, as well as approved participating 3^rd party apps, the use of our US Patent 10,551,472 and possibly also US Patent 10,212,568 until October 31, 2020 for the sole purpose of COVID-19 tracing free-of-charge. As we are a small company, we would kindly ask to enter into a regular business setup for IP-licensing, if use of our IP beyond that date is required. We are also willing to offer consultancy support at regular fees, if any company would require assistance to set this up. For more information, please see attached press release and mentioned patents.

We are grateful to take part of solving this global crisis together.

Crunchfish AB

Malmö, Sweden

April 24^th, 2020

US Patent 10 212 568

Crunchfish is granted a US patent for an invention which could be used to limit the spread of Covid-19

US Patent 10551472

For more information, contact:

Joachim Samuelsson, CEO at Crunchfish

+46 708 46 47 88

joachim.samuelsson@crunchfish.com

Västra Hamnen Corporate Finance AB is the Certified Adviser. Email: ca@vhcorp.se. Telephone +46 40 200 250.

About Crunchfish – Crunchfish.com

Crunchfish develops and markets interaction solution for mobile payment in a physical environment. Crunchfish’s proximity-based technology connects a customer’s mobile phone to a payment service in a Point of Sales terminal at a merchant, and even has a patent-pending innovation for payments when both the customer and merchant are completely without connection to the payment service. The solutions are marketed to payment apps, cash register providers and merchants in Sweden and India, as well as to multinational companies.

The company also develops interaction solution based on gesture control and has integrated that technology into millions of smartphones currently on the market. Today, development of the gesture control technology is focused on smart, AR glasses.

Crunchfish has its headquarters in Malmö, Sweden. The company also has offices in Stockholm and representation in India. The company drives its businesses through two subsidiaries, Crunchfish Proximity for proximity-based interaction for mobile payments, and Crunchfish Gesture Interaction for gesture control for smart, AR glasses. Crunchfish was founded in 2010 and has 23 employees.

Västra Hamnen Corporate Finance har idag publicerat en uppdaterad analys av Crunchfish med titeln ”Crunchfish: Turning eastward”.

Västra Hamnen skriver bl.a. följande: “Crunchfish is investing ever more time and effort in the Indian market. What sounded like a distant opportunity only six months ago, is rapidly being transformed into a firm strategy. With its huge size and explosive growth, the Indian mobile payments business could emerge as the most attractive use case in Crunchfish’ portfolio of opportunities. We have therefore decided to include the Indian market in our valuation model at this point.”

I analysen ges ett kursintervall enligt DCF-modellen på 25,30 SEK – 40,10 SEK per aktie. Analysen är tillgänglig på Västra Hamnens och Crunchfishs respektive webbplatser.

I syfte att öka genomlysningen av Crunchfish och som en service till bolagets aktieägare har Crunchfish kontrakterat Västra Hamnen att genomföra så kallad uppdragsanalys. Analysen innefattar en oberoende genomgång av bolaget, dess produkter, marknader och konkurrenter samt ett finansiellt scenario som utgör underlag för en bedömning om motiverat börsvärde för bolaget.

För ytterligare information, vänligen kontakta:
Ulf Rogius Svensson, IR & Marketing Manager
+46 733 26 81 05
ir@crunchfish.com

Västra Hamnen Corporate Finance AB är Certified Adviser. Epost: ca@vhcorp.se. Telefon +46 40 200 250.

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  Crunchfish AB (“Crunchfish”) has been granted a patent (Notice to Grant) US 10/551 472 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for sporadic and synchronized beacon transmission. The technology enables regular awakening of passive mobile users with their mobile in off mode, in order to identify them and also their position in […]

Crunchfish AB (“Crunchfish”) has been granted a patent (Notice to Grant) US 10/551 472 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for sporadic and synchronized beacon transmission. The technology enables regular awakening of passive mobile users with their mobile in off mode, in order to identify them and also their position in cases where the beacon transmitter is stationary. These transmitters can be used, for example, in public spaces, offices or in homes in order to record how long someone with an infection has been in the vicinity of others. The patent has previously also been granted in Sweden and a patent application has also been filed in the EU. The patent right is valid until November 2036.

The invention

Beacon technology was originally developed for stationary transmitters that continuously transmit a bluetooth signal that can be detected by nearby mobile phones. Today, mobile phones can themselves act as beacon transmitters. When a mobile phone detects a beacon signal, a scanning program is started on the mobile. Since this program affects the power consumption of the mobile, it is advisable to limit how often this scanning program is run. In Apple’s mobile operating system iOS, this is done directly in the operating system by requiring that a mobile must have been outside the beacon’s range for a certain period of time in order for the user to be rediscovered by running the scan program again.

In order to enable mobile phones on iOS to be reawakened, even if they remain within the beacon’s range, this invention proposes having a sporadic and synchronized beacon transmission, where the beacon signal is regularly shut off long enough for the scan program to re-execute when the beacon transmission resumes.

Limiting Covid-19 transmission

There is a huge focus worldwide on finding technical solutions that can limit the spread of Covid-19 infections. Now that several countries are going to re-open their communities following periods of quarantine, a new phase is beginning where the detection and limitation of the spread of the virus will be increasingly important. Several countries have developed mobile apps where users can register if they are sick in order to be able to warn others and track the possible spread of infection. Apple and Google recently announced a joint venture to provide a new bluetooth framework for these types of national transmission applications. Even though technological solutions will not solve the global spread of the virus, this type of technology will be a useful tool in helping reduce infection rates, see https://www.wired.com/story/apple-google-contact-tracing-wont-stop-covid-alone/

Crunchfish has developed software for social applications built on bluetooth-based beacon technology under the aBubbl brand. In 2020, Crunchfish has also expanded the aBubbl technology to also be applicable for mobile payments. Over many years, as far back as 2014–2016, Crunchfish has built up a strong IP portfolio where several inventions that have been granted patents could also be used to limit the spread of COVID-19. These inventions have also been granted patents in the US market which attached to this press release.

US Patent 10 551 472

US Patent 10 212 568

“Having these patents granted in the US market is interesting because many of the world’s largest leading app companies are based in the United States. Crunchfish would be humbled if our aBubbl technology could be used to help limit the spread of COVID-19. The future opportunity for us lies in the fact that more app companies will understand how useful our proximity-based aBubbl technology can be for a wide array of use cases. This patent, for example, is great for keeping track of where people and mobile office equipment are located in a large office environment. The technology could also be used to discover or communicate with a select group of people at a fair, or give merchants more marketing and promotion opportunities to people who are currently in their store”, says Joachim Samuelsson, CEO of Crunchfish.

As far as we can see, the current framework that Apple and Google have proposed does not infringe on our patents. That is because Apple and Google’s framework does not send any information to a central server, instead it registers the data locally in the phone for privacy reasons. Collecting information in a cloud server is a fundamental feature of Crunchfish’s technology, which is valuable for building centralized applications that can quickly analyse and act on collected data.

Crunchfish’s aBubbl solution is fully developed and can be integrated into both iOS and Android apps. Crunchfish’s aBubbl solution can easily be integrated into one or more apps built for tracking the spread of the virus in hard hit nations in order to more quickly collect large data sets and help track and prevent further spread of the virus.

Crunchfish’s Patent Portfolio

Crunchfish has, both nationally and internationally, 63 active patents and patent applications within two technology areas, proximity-based technology and gesture control. Within proximity-based technology, the company has 20 unique innovations, of which 15 have been granted a patent on at least one market. Within gesture control, 11 of 12 patent applications have been granted. The company owns all of its patents and patent applications, without restrictions.

Crunchfish’s strategy is to protect the company’s technology in all geographic markets deemed to be of significance. Crunchfish intends to continuously expand its patent portfolio to select markets and through inventions in both gesture control and proximity-based interaction.

For more information, contact:

Joachim Samuelsson, CEO at Crunchfish

+46 708 46 47 88

Joachim.samuelsson@crunchfish.com

Västra Hamnen Corporate Finance AB is the Certified Adviser. Email: ca@vhcorp.se. Telephone +46 40 200 250.

LINK TO ORIGINAL PRESS RELEASE IN SWEDISH

Årsredovisning för Crunchfishs verksamhetsår 2019 har idag publicerats på bolagets webbplats www.crunchfish.com och bifogas även som en PDF till detta pressmeddelande.

För ytterligare information, vänligen kontakta:
Ulf Rogius Svensson, IR & Marketing Manager
+46 733 26 81 05
ir@crunchfish.com

Västra Hamnen Corporate Finance AB är Certified Adviser. Epost: ca@vhcorp.se. Telefon +46 40 200 250.

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Crunchfish AB (”Crunchfish”) har av United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) beviljats patent (Notice to Grant) US 10/551 472 avseende sporadisk och synkroniserad beacontransmission. Teknologin möjliggör regelbunden återuppväckning av passiva mobilanvändare med mobilen i nedsläckt läge i syfte att kunna identifiera dem och även deras position i de fall när beaconsändaren är stationär. Dessa sändare kan exempelvis användas på publika platser, kontor eller i hem för att registrera hur länge någon med smitta befunnit sig i närheten av andra. Patentet har tidigare även beviljats i Sverige och patentansökan har även lämnats in i EU. Patenträttigheten gäller till november 2036.

Uppfinningen
Beaconteknologi utvecklades ursprungligen för stationära sändare som kontinuerligt sänder ut en bluetoothsignal som kan upptäckas av mobiler som befinner sig i närheten. Idag kan även mobiler agera beaconsändare. När en mobil registrerar en beaconsignal, startas ett skanningprogram i mobilen. Eftersom detta program påverkar mobilens strömförbrukning bör man begränsa hur ofta detta skanningprogram körs. I Apples mobila operativsystem iOS görs detta direkt av operativsystemet genom att kräva att en mobil måste ha befunnit sig utanför beaconsignalens räckvidd under en viss tidsperiod för att användaren skall kunna bli upptäckt på nytt genom att skanningprogrammet körs igen.

För att möjliggöra för mobiler på iOS skall kunna återuppväckas, även om de stannar inom beaconsignalens räckvidd, föreslår denna uppfinning en sporadisk och synkroniserad beacontransmission, där beaconsignalen regelbundet stängs av tillräckligt länge för att skanningprogrammet åter skall exekvera när beacontransmissionen återupptas.

Begränsning av covid-19-smittspridning
Det är ett enormt fokus i hela världen på att hitta tekniska lösningar som kan begränsa smittspridningen av covid-19. Nu när länder skall öppna upp sina samhällen igen efter karantänen inträder en fas där upptäckt och begränsning av smittspridning kommer att vara viktigt. Många länder har utvecklat mobila appar där användare kan registrera om de är sjuka för att kunna varna för och spåra eventuell smittspridning. Apple och Google annonserade gemensamt så sent som i fredags en gemensam satsning på att tillhandahålla ett nytt bluetooth-framework till dessa typer av nationella smittspridningsappar. Även om tekniska lösningar inte kommer att lösa världens smittspridningsproblem kommer denna typ av teknologi vara ett redskap i kampen mot smittspridning, se https://www.wired.com/story/apple-google-contact-tracing-wont-stop-covid-alone/.

Crunchfish har utvecklat mjukvara för sociala applikationer byggd på bluetooth-baserad beacon-teknologi under varumärket aBubbl. Under 2020 har Crunchfish även breddat aBubbl-teknologin för att även vara applicerbar för mobil betalning. Med prioritet så långt tillbaka som 2014–2016 har Crunchfish även byggt upp en stark IP-portfölj där flera uppfinningar som beviljats patent även skulle kunna användas för att begränsa covid-19-smittspridning. Dessa uppfinningar har även beviljats patent på den amerikanska marknaden som utöver uppfinningen i detta pressmeddelande är:

https://www.crunchfish.com/investors/pressmeddelanden/crunchfish-erhaller-sitt-forsta-amerikanska-patent-inom-proximity-omradet-2/

https://www.crunchfish.com/investors/pressmeddelanden/crunchfish-erhaller-forhandsbesked-om-nytt-amerikanskt-patent-for-kassainteraktion-med-nedslackta-mobiler/  

https://www.crunchfish.com/investors/pressmeddelanden/crunchfish-erhaller-europeiskt-forhandsbesked-om-patent-for-att-ateruppvacka-passiva-mobilanvandare/

“Att ha dessa patent beviljade på den amerikanska marknaden är intressant, eftersom många av världens största applikationsbolag kommer från USA. Crunchfish hade blivit oerhört glada över om vår aBubbl-teknologi kunde hjälpa till att begränsa spridningen av covid-19. Möjligheten för oss ligger främst i att fler applikationsbolag kommer att förstå hur förträfflig vår närhetsbaserade aBubbl-teknologi är för en mängd olika användningsområden. Detta patent lämpar sig exempelvis utmärkt för att hålla reda på var både människor och mobil kontorsutrustning befinner sig i stora kontorsmiljöer. Men vi kan också ge applikationer möjlighet att upptäcka eller kommunicera med en utvald grupp av människor som befinner sig på en mässa eller ge handlare nya möjligheter att marknadsföra till dem som just nu befinner sig i butiken”, säger Joachim Samuelsson, VD för Crunchfish.

Det framework som Apple och Google nyligen har föreslagit inkräktar dock inte, så vitt vi kan förstå, på något av våra ovanstående patent. Det beror på att Apples och Googles framework inte vidarebefordrar någon information till en central server, utan den registreras enbart lokalt i mobilen av integritetsskäl. Att samla information i en molnserver är ett grundläggande särdrag i Crunchfish teknologi, vilket är värdefullt för att kunna bygga centrala applikationer som snabbt skall analysera och agera på den insamlade datan.

Crunchfish aBubbl-lösning finns färdigutvecklat och kan integreras i appar på både iOS eller Android. För att snabba upp datainsamlingen till nationella smittspridningsappar skulle Crunchfish aBubbl-lösning kunna integreras i en eller flera appar med stor spridning på marknaden i syfte att snabbt få stor datainsamling inom landet till användning för den nationella appen mot smittspridning.

Crunchfishs patentportfölj
Crunchfish har, nationellt och internationellt, 63 aktiva patent och patentansökningar inom två teknologiområden – närhetsbaserad teknologi och geststyrning. Inom närhetsbaserad teknologi finns 20 unika uppfinningar av vilka 15 har beviljats patent på någon marknad. Inom geststyrningen har 11 av 12 blivit beviljade patent. Bolaget äger samtliga sina patent och patentansökningar utan begränsningar.

Crunchfish strategi är att skydda bolagets teknologi på alla geografiska marknader som bedöms vara av betydelse. Crunchfish har för avsikt att utöka sin patentportfölj kontinuerligt till utvalda marknader och genom nya uppfinningar inom både geststyrning och förstärkt verklighet.

För ytterligare information, vänligen kontakta:

Joachim Samuelsson, VD Crunchfish
+46 708 46 47 88
joachim.samuelsson@crunchfish.com

Denna information är sådan information som Crunchfish AB är skyldigt att offentliggöra enligt EU:s marknadsmissbruksförordning. Informationen lämnades, genom ovanstående kontaktpersons försorg, för offentliggörande den 17 april 2020.

Västra Hamnen Corporate Finance AB är Certified Adviser. Epost: ca@vhcorp.se. Telefon +46 40 200 250.

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