REG - Tekcapital plc - Annual Corporate & Strategy Update

TekcapitalAnnouncement

22/12/2023 07:00

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RNS Number : 6973X  Tekcapital plc  22 December 2023

The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company
(Companies House registration number 08873361) to constitute inside
information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014
("MAR")s. With the publication of this announcement via a Regulatory
Information Service ("RIS"), this inside information is now considered to be
in the public domain.

 

 

22 December 2023

Tekcapital Plc

("Tekcapital", the "Company" or "the Group")

Annual Corporate & Strategy Update

 

Tekcapital Plc (AIM: TEK) the UK intellectual property investment group
focused on creating valuable products that can improve people's lives, is
delighted to take this opportunity to provide an update on activities in 2023
and the progress towards its objective of achieving a US$100m + valuation for
its portfolio companies.

 

Tekcapital's investment objective is to achieve long-term growth of net assets
and returns on invested capital through the commercialisation of university IP
that can positively impact people's lives.

 

We see a clear runway of growth for each of our portfolio companies in the
coming year and look forward to reporting progress to shareholders.

 

Tekcapital intends to maintain material holdings in select portfolio companies
until we feel sufficient value has been created to warrant crystallising value
for shareholders while balancing the requirements for Tekcapital to support
portfolio companies in achieving commercial traction and key milestones.

 

Dr Clifford Gross, CEO of Tekcapital plc, commented:

 

'Despite challenging macroeconomic conditions in 2023, we have never been as
excited about the near-term commercial opportunities for our portfolio
companies, and we expect to report significant additional milestones for them
in the coming year. We are grateful for the terrific teams we have assembled,
the IP and innovation they have acquired and developed and their steadfast
efforts to bring useful and valuable products to market that can make a
positive impact on the customers they serve. Further, we are most appreciative
of our dedicated shareholders who have made this journey possible. We wish all
members of the Tekcapital family a safe and happy festive season."

 

Strategy Update

 

·    Tekcapital remains committed to medium and long-term shareholder
value creation by identifying university technologies with significant
commercial opportunities and the ability to improve the lives of millions of
people.

 

·    Consistent with this important goal, we are continuing to assist
MicroSalt in the completion of their planned IPO.

 

·    In 2024, Tekcapital will support select portfolio companies in
accelerating commercial traction and achieving revenue milestones.

 

·    Tekcapital remains committed to distributing special dividends to
shareholders at the appropriate time.

 

·    MicroSalt recently received wholesale orders from two Fortune-500
companies, one a leading snack food company and the other one of the world's
largest pharmacy/food retail chains. Additionally, the company is engaged in
late-stage supplier discussions with other major snack food brands which the
company hopes to announce in 2024.

 

·    Innovative Eyewear, Inc. has launched Nautica® smart eyewear and is
on track to launch Eddie Bauer® and Reebok® branded ChatGPT-enabled smart
eyewear in 2024, supported by the Lucyd 2.0 ChatGPT enabled voice interface
app.

 

·    Belluscura plc is preparing to meet the demands of licensing
agreements and orders with a circa £8m funding package and a strengthened
management team.

 

·    Guident ltd intends to accelerate growth of its Software as a Service
(SaaS) Remote Monitoring and Control Centre (RMCC) solution that is currently
generating recurring revenues. The Company has engaged a leading US investment
bank, Paulsen Investment Company (https://paulsoninvestment.com/) , to raise
capital for expanding its RMCC business.  In addition, the company plans to
conduct further testing and appraisal of its proprietary Regenerative Shock
Absorber technology after completing successful trials with a tier-1 tire
company.

 

·    Tekcapital will continue to seek new investment opportunities that
fit the company's long-term objective of creating shareholder value and
improving millions of people's lives. Current focus in this regard is on
vertical applications of Generative AI technology. To this end Tekcapital has
on-boarded two additional science advisors to help screen future acquisition
opportunities.

 

o Dr. Russ Salakhutdinov, the former director of AI at Apple. Russ is a
Professor of Computer Science in the Department of Machine Learning at
Carnegie Mellon University (CMU). He received his PhD in computer science from
the University of Toronto. After spending two post-doctoral years at MIT, he
joined the University of Toronto and later moved to CMU. He has
authored/co-authored over 150 research papers, and was an Alfred P. Sloan
Research Fellow, Microsoft Research Faculty Fellow, a recipient of the Early
Researcher Award, Google Faculty Award, and Nvidia's Pioneers of AI award
and,

o Alexander Mordvintsev who currently serves as a Senior research scientist at
Google and is the inventor of Deep Dream. Alexander is one of the world's
leading scientists in AI and computer graphics.

 

Portfolio Companies 2023 Review

 

MicroSalt plc

 

Highlights:

 

·    MicroSalt received an initial 60,000 lb commercial volume purchase
order with one of the world's largest beverage/snack food companies and is
expecting continued, recurring orders going forward.

 

·    MicroSalt has now delivered its first commercial-volume purchase
order from leading pharmacy/food retailer for use on an initial four lines of
its own brand salted nuts, to be sold across an initial c.800 stores, as
announced on 2 May 2023.

 

·    MicroSalt filed a Schedule One with the London Stock Exchange with
updates, regarding its proposed AIM IPO and is working diligently towards
achieving this goal.

 

·    As announced on 6 February 2023 US Salt entered an agreement with
MicroSalt for the distribution and sale of its low-sodium salt.

 

·    As announced on 31 July 2023 MicroSalt expanded into the Philippines
market with new distribution deals with major retailers Healthy Options and
S&R, demonstrating global demand for its sodium-reduced snacks.

 

·    As announced on 7 September 2023 MicroSalt filed a patent for a
low-sodium, faster-leavening dough technology using micron-sized salt
particles to improve the nutritional profile and production efficiency of
baked goods. MicroSalt believes the use of MicroSalt in bread is potentially
transformative for the bread industry.

 

·    As announced on 1 October 2023 MicroSalt secured placement of its
SaltMe! low sodium crisps with distributor MR Williams Inc servicing
convenience stores across North Carolina, South Carolina, and surrounding
states up to Delaware and down to Georgia.

 

·    As announced on 19 October 2023 Longs Drugs, a leading 70-store drug
store chain in Hawaii owned by CVS Health, agreed to place MicroSalt's SaltMe!
Crisps in their stores across the state.

 

·    Since releasing their saltshakers in 2023, more than 400 food stores
in the US have purchased and provide MicroSalt saltshakers to their customers.

 

Belluscura plc

 

Highlights:

 

·    On the 5 Oct 2023 Belluscura announced orders and licensing royalty
agreements totalling up to potentially US$85m.

 

·    On the 30 August 2023 Belluscura entered into a ten-year exclusive
License, Marketing and Distribution Agreement with its global manufacturing
partner, InnoMax Medical Technology covering China, Hong Kong, Macau and
Singapore worth up to US$55m in potential revenue for Belluscura.

 

·    On the 5 Oct 2023 Belluscura announced it received interest exceeding
10,000 DISCOV-R™ units with a potential sales value of over US$30 million.

 

·    On the 20 December 2023 Belluscura received its first approval for
the distribution of X-PLOR® portable oxygen concentrator from the Hong Kong
Department of Health - Medical Device Division and received its first purchase
order from a Hong Kong distributor.

 

·    On 5 Oct 2023 Belluscura announced a circa £8m growth capital
funding package raised by means of a conditional equity placing, a conditional
issue of 10% Unsecured Convertible Loan Notes and a proposed share-for-share
offer for TMT Acquisition plc.

 

·    Following the announcement, it has received X-PLOR® approval in Hong
Kong, on 13 Dec 2023 Belluscura  further announced it has received approval
from the Singapore Health Sciences Authority to distribute the X-PLOR®
portable oxygen concentrator in Singapore.

 

Guident ltd

 

Highlights:

 

·    On the 16 June 2023 Guident was awarded funding from Space Florida
for a groundbreaking project under the Florida-Israel Innovation Partnership
program, together with the Company's valued Israeli partner, NOVELSAT. The
project will explore low-orbit satellite connectivity to provide 24/7 back-up
monitoring with reduced latency in Remote Monitoring and Control Solutions.

 

·    On the 24 August 2023 Guident secured a paid proof of concept
agreement with a tier-1 OEM, resulting in successful tests and detailed
reports for Guident's regenerative shock absorber.

 

·    Also, on the 24 August 2023 Guident announced it had received and
fulfilled its first purchase order from Jacksonville Transportation Authority
(JTA) for JTA project to provide remote monitoring and control services and is
receiving recuring revenue from JTA.

 

·    On the 6 Sept 2023 Recognising commercial and funding opportunities
in their Regenerative Shock Absorber technology, Guident formed 100%-owned
subsidiary ReVive Energy Solutions. Separating their shock absorber technology
from RMCC services will support a precision-targeted go-to-market and
strategic investor strategy.

 

·    On the 16 Oct 2023 Guident secured landmark Software as a Service
(SaaS) agreements with European partners to provide its Remote Monitoring and
Control Centre (RMCC) software for fixed-route electric bus services. Under
the terms of the agreement, Guident will receive both upfront and incremental
recurring revenue for each software installation.

 

 

Innovative Eyewear Inc.

 

Highlights:

 

·    Innovative Eyewear launched the world's first ChatGPT-enabled smart
eyewear and filed a patent application covering this important integration.

 

·    To service the requirements of the world's first AI-enabled smart
eyewear with a voice interface, Innovative Eyewear launched its new
iOS/Android app called Lucyd.

 

·    Innovative Eyewear signed licensing agreements with Nautica®, Eddie
Bauer® and Reebok® brands for the development of branded ChatGPT-enabled
smart eyewear.

 

·    Nautica-branded smart eyewear powered by Innovative Eyewear's Lucyd
technology has launched and will be available in eight styles and will be
shipped in January 2024.

 

·    Innovative Eyewear filed a patent on a key product innovation,
flexible spring hinges for smart eyewear. The solution will be used on most
Innovative Eyewear ranges, enhancing comfort and open Lucyd smart eyewear up
to a wider array of customers.

 

·    Innovative Eyewear launched the new addition of the Company's
cordless charging dock, enabling the simultaneous charging of smart eyewear
and other devices, including mobile phones.

 

·    Innovative Eyewear new transitional blue light blocking lens designed
to maximize utility, eye protection and user satisfaction of Lucyd eyewear.

 

 

·    With improved ergonomics and large sizes, Innovative Eyewear launched
Lucyd Lyte XL in six new styles suited for larger heads.

 

·    Innovative Eyewear has announced the signing of Emmanuel Ogbah as an
official brand ambassador. Ogbah is a Nigerian professional football who plays
defensive end for the Miami Dolphins, where he received a US$65m contract in
2022. Lucyd eyewear's open-ear audio interface makes it a perfect companion
for outdoor sports, by enabling the user to enjoy music while helping to
maintain situational awareness and protecting their eyes from the sun in one
convenient product, according to the company.

 

Corporate Services

 

Tekcapital's technology transfer service business has demonstrated in the
first half of 2023 ~ 30% year over year increase in revenue vs 2022. This
consists of both specialist tech-transfer executive search and invention
evaluator analytic reports. Key clients include Hewlett Packard Enterprises
and MIT amongst many others. In H1 2024 Tekcapital will introduce an upgraded
invention evaluator service that will incorporate generative AI produced
analytic results, which we believe will add significant additional value,
improve operating margins, and add multilingual capabilities to the finished
reports.

 

About Tekcapital plc

Tekcapital creates value from investing in new, university-developed
discoveries that can enhance people's lives and provides a range of technology
transfer services to help organisations evaluate and commercialise new
technologies. Tekcapital is quoted on the AIM market of the London Stock
Exchange (AIM: symbol TEK) and is headquartered in the UK. For more
information, please visit www.tekcapital.com (http://www.tekcapital.com) .

LEI: 213800GOJTOV19FIFZ85

For further information, please contact:

 Tekcapital Plc                                                                                                          Via Flagstaff IR
 Clifford M. Gross, Ph.D.

 SP Angel  Corporate Finance                                                                                             +44 (0) 20 3470 0470
 LLP
 (Nominated Adviser and Broker)
 Richard Morrison / Charlie Bouverat (Corporate Finance)

 Rob Rees (Corporate Broking)

 

Flagstaff Strategic and Investor
Communications
       +44 (0)207 129 1474

Tim Thompson/Andrea Seymour/Fergus Mellon

 

This press release is for informational purposes only. The information herein
does not constitute investment advice nor an offer to invest and may contain
statements related to our future business and financial performance and future
events or developments involving MicroSalt that may constitute forward-looking
statements. These statements may be identified by words such as "expect,"
"look forward to," "anticipate" "intend," "plan," "believe," "seek,"
"estimate," "will," "project" or words of similar meaning. We may also make
forward-looking statements in other reports, in presentations, in material
delivered to customers, stakeholders and in press releases. In addition, our
representatives may from time to time make oral forward-looking statements.
Such statements may be based on the current expectations and certain
assumptions of Tekcapital's management. Please note that these are subject to
a number of risks, uncertainties and factors, including, but not limited to
those described in various disclosures. Should one or more of these risks or
uncertainties materialize or should underlying expectations not occur or
assumptions prove incorrect, actual results, performance or achievements of
Tekcapital may vary materially from those described explicitly or implicitly
in the relevant forward-looking statement. Tekcapital does not intend, nor
assumes any obligation, to update or revise these forward-looking statements
in light of developments which differ from those anticipated.

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