SecureKey Technologies Inc. has received an investment from Intel Capital of Santa Clara, Calif., Intel Corp.’s global investment unit announced Feb. 14.
SecureKey would not reveal any terms of the investment, but in a separate Feb. 14 release Intel Capital announced it had made six strategic investments worth $26 million in “mobility companies around the globe.”
Toronto-based SecureKey produces technology that enables secure online and mobile e-commerce transactions using a device that looks like a USB memory stick. When tapping cards equipped with chips against it, the device can turn a consumer’s personal computer into a type of contactless payment terminal.
Each transaction uses a one-time code the stick generates. Once the card has been verified, the device also fills out payment information for consumers at the check-out page.
The plan is to migrate the technology away from the key so it resides inside mobile devices, PCs, laptops and tablets, Chris Gardner, SecureKey vice president in charge of partner engagement, noted in a news release. “The investment will continue to help the company grow on the [research-and-development] side, and it is a signal our technology is the sort of technology that bigger companies see as vital,” he said.
The investment was strategic for both companies, Gardner said.
“As more devices compute and connect to the Internet, it creates an opportunity to deliver new end-user capabilities by supporting the development of mobile infrastructure, applications, services and components for Intel architecture-based platforms,” Arvind Sodhani, Intel Capital president and executive vice president for Intel, noted in the Intel release. “These six investments represent key growth areas of the mobile ecosystem and will contribute to bringing important features to the next generation of mobile devices.”
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