Loading organizations...
AuthenTec is a Melbourne, Florida-based hardware and software organization that develops advanced fingerprint sensors, identity management systems, and embedded security solutions for mobile devices and personal computers. Prior to its eventual acquisition, the enterprise scaled its manufacturing operations significantly, successfully shipping over 100 million fingerprint sensors globally for direct integration into various consumer electronics and network security systems. The company supplied its foundational biometric authentication technology to major hardware manufacturers, securing long-term commercial partnerships with prominent multinational customers such as Samsung and Motorola. In July 2012, Apple officially acquired the business for approximately $356 million to integrate its proprietary hardware directly into future smartphone models, eventually launching the biometric technology as Touch ID. AuthenTec was originally founded in 1998 by F. Scott Moody and Dale Setlak as a dedicated corporate technology spin-off from the defense contractor Harris Corporation.
AuthenTec has raised $27.0M across 2 funding rounds.
AuthenTec has raised $27.0M in total across 2 funding rounds.
AuthenTec has raised $27.0M in total across 2 funding rounds.
AuthenTec's investors include Sierra Ventures.
AuthenTec has raised $27.0M across 2 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $15.0M Series D in July 2004.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 1, 2004 | $15M Series D | — | Sierra Ventures | Announced |
| Mar 1, 2003 | $12M Series C | — | Sierra Ventures | Announced |
AuthenTec was a pioneering biometric security company that developed fingerprint sensor technology and identity management software for PCs, wireless devices, and access control systems.[1][2][3] It served high-volume consumer electronics markets by solving authentication challenges with secure, embedded biometrics, culminating in its fingerprint tech powering Apple's Touch ID on the iPhone 5S after acquisition.[1][2] Spun out in 1998, AuthenTec raised $66.1M, went public in 2007 (NASDAQ: AUTH), and achieved strong growth momentum through tech refinements and acquisitions like SafeNet's embedded security division in 2004, before Apple bought it in 2012 for around $394M—Apple's first public company acquisition and second-largest deal at the time.[1][2][3][4]
AuthenTec emerged as a 1998 spinout from Harris Corporation, a defense contractor, leveraging proprietary fingerprint sensor technology developed and funded internally at Harris to minimize early-stage risks.[1][2] Co-founder F. Scott Moody, who led the team from Harris, brought expertise in biometrics; the company was headquartered in Melbourne, Florida.[1][2][3][4] Early sensors were bulky with low success rates (around 5%), but over a decade, AuthenTec iterated to viable products, secured Series A funding with help from investors like Topmark Partners (who exited via IPO shares in 2007), went public that year, and hit pivotal traction through partnerships and the 2004 SafeNet acquisition, adding encryption IP and 23 U.S. patents to its portfolio.[1][2][3]
AuthenTec rode the early 2000s biometrics wave, capitalizing on rising demand for secure mobile authentication amid smartphone proliferation and privacy concerns—ironic given Harris's defense roots flagged for surveillance risks.[1][2] Its timing aligned with Apple's iOS ecosystem push for vertical integration, where AuthenTec's sensors enabled Touch ID's 2013 debut, setting industry standards for fingerprint security and influencing payments like Apple Pay.[1][2] Market forces like consumer data breaches and regulatory pushes for biometrics favored its IP-heavy model, amplifying ecosystem impact: post-acquisition, Touch ID tech spurred competitors (e.g., Microchip, Touch Biometrix) and normalized biometrics in billions of devices.[1][3]
AuthenTec's legacy endures through Touch ID's foundational role in Apple's security empire, now evolving toward Face ID and beyond, but its pre-acquisition momentum highlights biometrics' path from niche to ubiquitous.[1][2] Looking ahead, successor trends like under-display sensors and AI-enhanced multimodal auth (e.g., in digital health via peers like Linear Dimensions) will build on its IP, with Apple's ongoing refinements driving privacy-focused hardware amid quantum threats and regulations. As the first public buy for Apple, AuthenTec exemplified how specialized tech fuels megacap innovation, priming the ecosystem for next-gen secure computing that started with a Melbourne spinout's fingerprints.
