Aveso: Thin, Flexible, Low-Cost Printed Electronic Displays

Aveso Pioneers Printed Electronic Displays that Usher in New Generation of Paper-Thin Micro-Electronic Devices

Dow spin-out integrates electronic displays into high-volume printed products
such as credit cards and product packaging

Minneapolis, April 12, 2005 – Aveso, Inc., a recent spin-out from The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE: DOW), announced today its entry into the $50-billion electronic display market. Aveso is developing paper-thin microelectronic devices that feature the company’s proprietary printed electronic display technology integrated with electronic components including microprocessors, power, radio frequency (RF) antenna and user interface. The integrated devices, typically less than half the thickness of a standard credit card, are produced using existing, readily available high-speed print processes and capacity. They can be rapidly scaled using cost-effective, mature manufacturing processes, making it possible for the first time to integrate electronic displays into printed high volume products like credit cards and labels. Integrated Aveso displays are expected to enable original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and brand owners in these markets grow revenue, reduce fraud and theft, and improve safety and security.

The Dow Chemical Company funded development of the material science at the heart of Aveso displays. After several years of intense research to develop the promising technology, Dow elected to spin the technology out to accelerate commercialization.

Aveso was founded as a separate entity in July 2004. ARCH Venture Partners and Frazier Technology Ventures participated in the first round of funding. Both venture firms have a long history and deep expertise in successful seed and early-stage investments in the information technology sector. Dow remains an active investor.

The company’s intellectual property covers core material science that enables printed electronic display technology, as well as manufacturing methods that utilize high-speed printing processes. Aveso is working with technology leaders in microprocessor design, high-speed die attach and printed battery development to optimize the integration of high-quality components within its devices. The company currently produces devices featuring numeric displays and has plans to offer alphanumeric and passive-matrix displays that allow for increased resolution and higher content delivery.

“Aveso’s technology represents a breakthrough in the manufacture of electronic displays,” said Aris Silzars, past president of the Society for Information Displays and CEO of Northlight Displays, a leading consulting firm on display technology. “Aveso displays demonstrate a practical and immediate technological approach to high-volume, low-cost, ultra-thin display production. This technology will bring electronic display benefits to traditional print applications and enable entirely new applications, yet to be developed.”

Peter Harrop, CEO of IDTechEx, a leading consultancy on radio frequency identification (RFID) smart labels, smart packaging and printed electronics based in Cambridge, England, said, “There exists tremendous latent demand for electronic displays suitable for packaging and RFID tag applications. Cost-effective display devices will be used to enhance brands, meet new legislation, change consumer lifestyles and beat crime. Aveso raises the bar for delivering flexible displays in a range of critical, high volume applications.”

Aveso is actively developing solutions for a variety of card and label applications, including:

• Display-enabled credit cards that generate a one-time password to support secure Internet-based transactions. Integrating a display into a financial credit card eliminates the need for a separate hardware token, providing card issuers with a simple, cost-effective strong authentication tool for broad customer deployment.

• Display-enabled stored value, loyalty or gift cards that provide immediate access to balance, usage or expiration information. Added display functionality represents a natural product extension for the exploding gift card market.

• Product labels that allow brand owners and consumers to verify product authenticity directly on the package through touch or radio frequency (RF) activation. The display-based “covert-to-overt” label represents a cost-effective, novel technology to guard against product counterfeiting in markets such as software and pharmaceuticals.

“We have taken our enabling technology out of the lab environment and are now focused on scaling our integrated printed electronic display devices in ISO-certified production settings,” said Steve Quindlen, Aveso president and chief executive officer. “Our ability to leverage mature print and microelectronics infrastructure to manufacture innovative new technology will allow us to radically speed time-to-market to meet the pressing needs of our customers.”

About Aveso, Inc.
Aveso, Inc. is a pioneer in the development of ultra thin, ultra low-power printed electronic displays produced using existing print manufacturing capacity. The Company’s display devices, typically less than half the thickness of a standard credit card, make it possible for the first time to integrate electronic displays into high-volume printed products such as credit cards and packaging labels. Aveso display devices are designed for integration into the global card and label manufacturing base and can be scaled cost-effectively in the hundreds of millions to billions of units.