Last checked at 30 Oct 2017 07:00
The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014 ("MAR"). With the publication of this announcement via a Regulatory Information Service ("RIS"), this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.
30 October 2017
Tekcapital plc
("Tekcapital" or the "Company")
Acquisition of a New, Patented Artificial Intelligence
Valet System for Autonomous Vehicles and Drones
Tekcapital plc (AIM: TEK), a UK intellectual property (IP) investment group focused on creating marketplace value from university technology, is pleased to announce that its wholly-owned portfolio company, Guident Ltd, has exclusively licensed U.S. Patent # 9,429,943 from Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University. This patent has the potential to enable the development of software apps for controlling autonomous vehicles such as cars, trucks and drones using artificial intelligence.
As an example, with this new technology, the directors of Tekcapital believe that it is possible to develop apps that allow users of autonomous vehicles to dispatch their vehicles to identify available parking spots and park themselves and later retrieve the users of the vehicle when they are ready to go on to their next destination.
Guident Ltd was established by Tekcapital to exclusively license and commercialise new technology to enhance the utility, safety and enjoyment of autonomous vehicles and drones.
According to Research and Markets1, the global Autonomous Vehicles market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 39.6% during the forecast period 2017-2027 reaching $126.8 bilion by 2027.
In a recent interview in Fast Company2, Jim Hackett, Ford Motor Company's chief executive officer stated:
"You waste more time trying to find a parking place than you do being stuck in traffic," said Hackett. "That's because you're trying to match the open parking place with where the car needs to go. We have a dream where they can actually tell each other that. The car and the parking spot are talking to each other. They find each other."
Commenting on the license acquisition, Dr Clifford M. Gross, Executive Chairman of Tekcapital, said; "We are excited that Guident Ltd has acquired the exclusive rights to this novel IP aimed at improving the utility of autonomous vehicles. Their goal is to commercialize the technology, develop a family of apps and provide them to leading autonomous vehicle and drone manufacturers and their customers."
For further information, please contact:
Tekcapital Plc |
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Clifford M. Gross, Ph.D. | Via Walbrook PR |
Allenby Capital Limited (Nominated Adviser & Joint Broker) |
+44 (0) 20 3328 5656 |
Jeremy Porter / Alex Brearley |
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Dowgate Capital Stockbrokers (Joint Broker) | +44 (0) 1293 517744 |
David Poutney / James Serjeant |
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Walbrook PR Ltd | +44 (0) 20 7933 8780 |
Paul Cornelius / Helen Cresswell / Sam Allen | tekcapital@walbrookpr.com
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Tekcapital plc - The World's Largest University Network for Open Innovation
Tekcapital's objective is to create value from investing in new, university-developed intellectual properties. Additionally, using its proprietary discovery search engine, linked to 4,500+ universities in 160 countries, coupled with expert scientific review, Tekcapital provides a range of IP investment services to make it easy for organisations to find, evaluate, acquire and license university-developed technology. Tekcapital plc is quoted on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange (AIM: symbol TEK) and is headquartered in Oxford, in the UK. For more information, please visit www.tekcapital.com
LEI: 213800GOJTOV19FIFZ85
References
1- https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/1268-billion-autonomous-vehicle-market-global-drivers-restraints-opportunities-trends-and-forecasts-2017-2023-300486159.html
2- https://www.fastcompany.com/40483279/ford-ceo-jim-hackett-dumb-cars-are-dying-but-car-ownership-is-safe-for-now