The global leader in eye-tracking technology, Tobii continues its rapid growth by announcing a new driver monitoring system (DMS), new partnerships, and its acquisition of AI software developer Phasya.
The latest developments in the Swedish tech company signals its entry into the automotive market, with strength boosted by the upcoming acquisition and the signing of two new partnerships. With these, Tobii is poised to make a strong presence in the growing automotive industry.
Its new partnerships include Sunny SmartLead, a leading optics solutions provider expected to boost Tobii's DMS solutions. Another is with human behavior AI leader Nviso, combining both companies' strengths to develop a disruptive industry Driver and Occupant Monitoring System (OMS).
Adding Phasya into the Tobii Family
At the start of August, Tobii signed a definitive acquisition agreement with Phasya, an AI software developer, to monitor human performance's cognitive and physiological parameters. Phasya's flagship software can analyze biometric signals like heart rate and eye movement to determine cognitive states such as drowsiness, distraction, or cognitive load. In a press release, Tobii states that Phasya algorithms are essential parts of a Driver Monitoring System to understand driver states that can affect safety, comfort, and overall driving experience. There is also a potential for Phasya technologies to be deployed in other industries such as aviation, rail, and even consumer electronics.
Tobii recognizes Phasya's long experience in algorithm development and validation for cognitive state assessment. Phasya techs are "highly complementary" to Tobii's specialization with eye-tracking technology, enhancing the recently announced Tobii DMS. Additionally, as Phasya is still in its early pre-revenue commercialization phase, Tobii can help accelerate its commercialization by strategically leveraging the AI software developer's technologies and resources.
"Through this process, it has become increasingly clear that Tobii is a fantastic home for Phasya. By leveraging Tobii's organization and strong experience of scaling businesses, Phasya's team and solutions will reach its full potential," says Jérôme Wertz, Phasya CEO. "We look forward to driving groundbreaking innovation and introducing exciting new possibilities across industries."
The acquisition costs around 4 million Euros, with about 2 million being "contingent on performance over the coming five years."
Tobii Entering the DMS Market
On the same day it announced the Phasya acquisition, Tobii also announced its entry into the mass market of automotive integrations through Tobii DMS, its proprietary driver monitoring system. Building on its experience over the past 20 years, Tobii is adding the new high-growth focus area into its portfolio intended to meet the needs of the automotive OEM market.
In development since 2019, the Tobii driver monitoring system is set to be released this fall in preparation for its projected mass-market adoption within 2024 to 2025. Tobii DMS is an AI-based attention computing technology that returns critical data points about driver states to improve traffic safety and advance vehicle interfaces' intuitiveness. By using its unique expertise that includes component engineering to full system designs, the new system is already seen as a disruptive solution to the DMS market, filling the needs of OEM and Tier-1 partners.
Published on Tech Times.
