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7 questions to a start-up: Biowatch

by Amelie Janssens

Fusion – the first-ever FinTech business incubator in Switzerland – exists to shape innovation in financial services by combining up-and-coming tech talent with Swiss state-of-the-art financial know-how. As a Fusion member, Notz Stucki is actively involved in the incubation process.

Discover our series “7 questions to a start-up” to get a feeling of who are the participants of the incubator!

 

7 questions to Matthias Vanoni and Joe Rice, founders and managing partners of Biowatch

Biowatch SA is a Swiss startup incorporated on February 2015. It combines three very fast growing markets: Biometrics, Wearables and Internet of Things (IoT). What is the result? A wearable electronic biometric module that enables individuals and industries worldwide to connect securely, instantly, and seamlessly. Just add the Biowatch buckle to your existing watch, smartband or smartwatch, and it will identify you thanks to the uniqueness of your wrist vein pattern.

1/ Who are you?

Matthias Vanoni, 30 years old. I am the co-founder and CEO of Biowatch SA, and co-inventor of new patents protecting the Biowatch product. As a former PhD student on vein biometrics at Idiap Biometric Lab, at EPFL, I have a 10-year background in biometrics. If we look further back, I attended the Ecole Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr, a French military academy, and then joined as a lieutenant the Gendarmerie Nationale during 6 years.
Joe Rice, 67 years old. I am the co-founder and chairman of Biowatch SA, and co-inventor of new patents protecting the Biowatch product. If we look back in the 80’s, I worked at Kodak during 30 years in the UK. In 1985, I invented the vein pattern biometric by patenting this technology, after my bank and credit cards were stolen and fraudulently used.

Joe Rice & Matthias Vanoni
Joe Rice & Matthias Vanoni

2/ What does your company do?

Biowatch SA transforms your watch into a secure source of identification using the unique pattern of your veins. It replaces your keys, cards, passwords and PIN numbers, without the need to acquire a new wearable. Once activated by the legitimate user, this smart module allows non-stop authentication as long as the device is on your wrist thanks to NFC / Bluetooth technology. On a typical day, you are able to unlock your car, to access to your office, or purchase goods and services online, by being connected securely, instantly, and seamlessly. This Swiss innovation mainly responds to big issues encountered by industries such as banking, access control and watches (security and luxury).

3/ What’s the founding story behind Biowatch?

Back in July 2014, when Matthias was still a PhD student working on vein biometrics, he came across with Joseph Rice’s research, and namely with a particular patent. It was actually about vein pattern and the capability of authenticating an individual thanks to this unique human feature. Convinced by this finding and its development and commercial potential, Matthias, located in Switzerland, decided to contact Joe directly who was living in the UK. He suggested him to collaborating together in order to move further along and eventually establish Biowatch SA. That was the beginning of a great adventure …

4/ What was your proudest moment in your company’s history so far?

Apart from having convinced major players in the automotive, banking or access control industries which we work with, we just reached a first financial closure on October. We were able to raise CHF 1.2 million for the development of our Biowatch module. That is a big success for the startup in order to go further.

5/ What’s the vision behind Biowatch?

Biowatch SA envisions a world where humans and technology interact without constraints and without fearing security issues: a once a day authentication process for accessing various use cases, all day long, without demanding any effort from the customer. Our mission is to provide the world’s first wearable wrist vein authentication solution to industries worldwide.

6/ What’s your biggest challenge right now?

Our biggest challenge right now is to find the right talents to grow our team of engineers.

7/ Is there any inspirational saying or words of encouragement you want to share with other creative/disruptive professionals?

You just need to be 100% convinced by your idea and believe in your revolutionary concept.

 

Twitter: @fintechfusion

 

Photos & Text: Matthias Vanoni and Joe Rice

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Antonio Mira
CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER, MEMBER OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Antonio Mira joined NS Partners in 2006 as Group Chief Financial Officer. He heads the corporate functions and is involved in coordinating and implementing the decisions of the Executive Committee.
An experienced bank auditor, Antonio started his career in 1995 with Arthur Andersen, where he worked for some 7 years before joining Ernst & Young in 2002 as a Senior Manager.
Antonio is a Swiss chartered accountant and a Business graduate of Lausanne University (HEC).

Sébastien Poiret
DEPUTY HEAD OF WEALTH MANAGEMENT

Sébastien Poiret joined NS Partners in 2008 and manages funds of hedge funds and private client mandates. He also oversees the development of the Group’s offices in Mauritius.

Prior to joining NS Partners, he served as a Trader, Head of Manager research and Portfolio Manager in the USA and Switzerland for a single hedge fund (1998-2004) and for Optimal (2004-2008), Grupo Santander’s fund-of-hedge funds operations.

Sébastien holds a Bachelor’s degree in Corporate Finance from the ESPEME Business School (EDHEC Group) and an MBA in Finance and Economics from the Institute of Business Administration, both in Nice.

Abir Oreibi
BOARD DIRECTOR

Abir Oreibi joined the Board of the NS Partners Group in 2018, where she brings her truly international perspective and rich experience.
Among many other ventures, Abir set up Alibaba.com’s first European office. After living and working in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Bangkok and London, she now lives in Geneva, where she is CEO of Lift Events, an organization that identifies technology trends, their business and social impact through the organization of events and open innovation programs. Issues related to the challenges and opportunities created by new technologies as well as the strategic responses from organizations are at the heart of Lift’s activities.
Abir holds a BA in Political Sciences from the University of Geneva. She is an investor, and member of advisory and innovation boards.

Romain Pidoux, CAIA

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Romain Pidoux joined NS Partners in 2011 and heads the Group’s Risk Management.
He started his financial career in 2005 as Head of Quantitative Analysis for a Swiss Family Office, selecting funds and managing portfolio allocation. In 2008, he switched to the alternative world and joined Peak Partners as hedge funds analyst.
He is a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) and holds a Master’s degree in international relations from the Graduate Institute of International Studies at Geneva University.

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