Meta Materials to Sell Its Authentication Business to Authentix

Following the news that Meta Materials had laid off 80% of its workforce and was looking for buyers of the business (see HN June 2024), a filing at the United States Securities and Exchange Commission states that it has agreed to sell most of its authentication business assets (Nanotech Security Corporation, or NCS) to security solutions provider Authentix for $10 million, excluding certain assets such as cash and real estate.

Meta Materials acquired NCS in 2021 for C$90 million. Its other businesses include electro-optics and battery materials and it had revenues of $10 million in 2022 ($6 million of which came from NCS) and a net loss of $80 million (it has not published its figures for 2023).

NCS security has pioneered banknote OVD (optically variable device) technology for the past decade with innovations in micro-, nano-, and plasmonic structures. The company has also developed in-house secure foil production to offer banknote stripes directly to customers.