Chip startup UltraSense enters deal with Korean automotive supplier

Mobase Electronics

18/09/2023 14:15

By Stephen Nellis
       Sept 18 (Reuters) - UltraSense Systems, a Silicon Valley
startup that makes a chip that can replace mechanical buttons,
said on Monday that it has signed a deal with South Korea's
Mobase Electronics  012860.KQ  to supply chips in cars due to
hit the market next year.
    UltraSense makes a chip that uses ultrasound waves to detect
when a person has tapped on a solid surface. Daniel Goehl,
UltraSense's chief business officer, told Reuters that
automotive companies are experimenting with replacing
traditional control buttons with solid panels of metal or wood,
especially in high-end models.
    Under the deal announced on Monday, Mobase, a supplier to
Korea's automotive industry, will use UltraSense chips in button
bars it supplies to automakers.
    "With UltraSense's partnership, we are confident that our
solid-surface infotainment systems and other next-generation
touch products will stand out with our customers to deliver
exceptional touch user experiences," Son Byeong-Jun, chairman
and co-chief executive of Mobase, said in a statement. 
    San Jose, California-based UltraSense's Goehl declined to
say which vehicles will contain his company's chips, but said
they will show up in "high-tier" models from Korean automakers.
    "The first car rolls off the production line in January, and
there'll be three or four other cars that roll off the line
throughout 2024," Goehl told Reuters. 

 (Reporting by Stephen Nellis in San Francisco; Editing by Will
Dunham)
 ((Stephen.Nellis@thomsonreuters.com;))