Himax to Present Innovative Solutions for tinyML

TAINAN, Taiwan, Dec. 20, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Himax Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: HIMX) (“Himax” or “Company”), a leading supplier and fabless manufacturer of display drivers and other semiconductor products, today announced that during CES 2024 the Company will unveil its new generation WiseEye^TM AI processor, WE2, with a diverse array of new sensor fusion use cases, encompassing image, video and audio. Himax has also teamed up with numerous industry-leading ecosystem partners in a joint showcase of its WiseEye^TM technology for a range of battery-powered tinyML products and reference designs, covering smart laptop, smart home, smart city, wearable device, and surveillance applications.

As demand for AI grows, the number of devices with powerful processors or cloud connections surges. Yet, the high-power requirements of these devices present challenges such as escalating costs, high power consumption and deployment limitations, along with the privacy concerns in cloud computing. Himax’s proprietary WiseEye AI solution features local inferencing tinyML vision AI with ultralow power, a compact form factor and built-in industrial grade security and cryptography engines. It is ideally suited for resource-constrained, battery-powered endpoint AI applications and seamlessly integrates into everyday life. Market adoption is swiftly expanding across diverse domains.

The Company’s first generation WiseEye AI processor, WE1, supports the mass production of a series of Dell’s premium notebook along with other endpoint AI applications. At CES 2024, Himax will reveal its next generation WE2 AI processor with 32 times faster inference speed AI, and 40% peak power saving compared to its predecessor, WE1. The WE2 exhibition will showcase applications such as palm vein authentication, face detection and recognition, facial landmarking, head pose estimation, hand detection, hand landmark detection, and object detection among others. A live demonstration of facial mesh analysis will also be presented, executing a sophisticated model, which traditionally requires discrete graphics hardware, to underscore its unique capabilities. This is a groundbreaking achievement, enabling professional-grade computer vision and perceptual AI functions to operate directly on miniature power-efficient endpoint devices with ultralow power consumption. Additionally, WE2 supports audio capabilities, including keyword spotting for voice control, seamlessly integrating with vision AI to deliver comprehensive sensor fusion capability.

Finally, the Company will also showcase a new line of production-ready WiseEye Modules, a versatile module which features an integrated computer vision hardware and software platform consisting of Himax’s low power CMOS image sensor, WE1 or WE2 AI processor, and Himax’s in-house DNN (Deep Neural Networks) models. The module is designed to reduce the entry barrier for development and enable a variety of applications, such as digit reading, people counting and object detection. It offers an effortless plug-and-play user experience due to its outstanding no-code/low-code AI, compact form factor and universal interface. At CES, numerous endpoint AI application collaborations with ecosystem partners will also be on display, such as Seeed Studio for a battery-powered endpoint AI vision processing module, DESMAN for a smart door lock, Murata for automatic meter reading (AMR) and Ganzin for eye tracking in mix-reality glasses, all illustrating the consolidated efforts between parties to broaden market reach.

Himax invites all interested parties to stop by our exhibition booth at The Venetian Las Vegas Hotel (3355 Las Vegas Boulevard S, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA) Venetian Exhibit Suite 34-208 to experience the Company’s innovative technologies in ultralow power AI. To schedule a meeting or booth tour, please contact Himax at: Himax_CES@himax.com.tw.

About Himax Technologies, Inc.
Himax Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: HIMX) is a leading global fabless semiconductor solution provider dedicated to display imaging processing technologies. The Company’s display driver ICs and timing controllers have been adopted at scale across multiple industries worldwide including TVs, PC monitors, laptops, mobile phones, tablets, automotive, ePaper devices, industrial displays, among others. As the global market share leader in automotive display technology, the Company offers innovative and comprehensive automotive IC solutions, including traditional driver ICs, advanced in-cell Touch and Display Driver Integration (TDDI), local dimming timing controllers (Local Dimming Tcon), Large Touch and Display Driver Integration (LTDI) and AMOLED display technologies. Himax is also a pioneer in tinyML visual-AI and optical technology related fields. The Company’s industry-leading WiseEye^TM Smart Sensing technology which incorporates Himax proprietary ultralow power AI processor, always-on CMOS image sensor, and CNN-based AI algorithm has been widely deployed in consumer electronics and AIoT related applications. While Himax optics technologies, such as diffractive wafer level optics, LCoS microdisplays and 3D sensing solutions, are critical for facilitating emerging AR/VR/metaverse technologies. Additionally, Himax designs and provides touch controllers, AMOLED ICs, LED drivers, EPD drivers, power management ICs, and CMOS image sensors for diverse display application coverage. Founded in 2001 and headquartered in Tainan, Taiwan, Himax currently employs around 2,200 people from three Taiwan-based offices in Tainan, Hsinchu and Taipei and country offices in China, Korea, Japan, Germany, and the US. Himax has 2,838 patents granted and 376 patents pending approval worldwide as of September 30, 2023.

http://www.himax.com.tw

Forward Looking Statements

Factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those described in this conference call include, but are not limited to, the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on the Company’s business; general business and economic conditions and the state of the semiconductor industry; market acceptance and competitiveness of the driver and non-driver products developed by the Company; demand for end-use applications products; reliance on a small group of principal customers; the uncertainty of continued success in technological innovations; our ability to develop and protect our intellectual property; pricing pressures including declines in average selling prices; changes in customer order patterns; changes in estimated full-year effective tax rate; shortage in supply of key components; changes in environmental laws and regulations; changes in export license regulated by Export Administration Regulations (EAR); exchange rate fluctuations; regulatory approvals for further investments in our subsidiaries; our ability to collect accounts receivable and manage inventory and other risks described from time to time in the Company’s SEC filings, including those risks identified in the section entitled “Risk Factors” in its Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2022 filed with the SEC, as may be amended.

Company Contacts:

Eric Li, Chief IR/PR Officer
Himax Technologies, Inc.
Tel: +886-6-505-0880
Fax: +886-2-2314-0877
Email: hx_ir@himax.com.tw
www.himax.com.tw

Karen Tiao, Investor Relations
Himax Technologies, Inc.
Tel: +886-2-2370-3999
Fax: +886-2-2314-0877
Email: hx_ir@himax.com.tw
www.himax.com.tw

Mark Schwalenberg, Director
Investor Relations – US Representative
MZ North America
Tel: +1-312-261-6430
Email: HIMX@mzgroup.us
www.mzgroup.us