They were the winners of our very first Gerard & Anton Award (in fact, they won the prize even before it was named after the two Philips founders), and now their technology is used in more than half a billion devices worldwide. All along the fifteen years of their existence, digital security was Intrinsic ID‘s focus. Formed in 2008 as a spinout of Philips Research, where the founders of Intrinsic ID were conducting groundbreaking research on security for ambient intelligence, the company has pioneered the use of Physical Unclonable Functions (PUFs) for security and authentication applications in embedded systems and the Internet of Things (IoT).
Today, the Intrinsic ID PUF-based security solutions are deployed by the biggest tech and semiconductor companies worldwide in more than 600 million devices. Intrinsic ID’s technology provides an additional level of hardware security by utilizing the inherent uniqueness of every silicon chip. The IP can be delivered in hardware or software and can be applied easily to almost any chip – from tiny microcontrollers to high-performance FPGAs – and at any stage of a product’s lifecycle. It is used as a hardware root of trust to protect sensitive military and government data and systems, validate payment systems, secure connectivity, and authenticate sensors.
“I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve built over the last 15 years at Intrinsic ID,” said Dr. Pim Tuyls, CEO and co-founder of Intrinsic ID. “To see our work evolve into a commercial enterprise and contribute so significantly to the advancement of digital security is humbling and gratifying. The attitude towards digital security has shifted dramatically over the years, and now device-level security has become an integral component designed upfront. I’m proud of the gains we’ve made in helping to enable a more secure, interconnected world and excited about the advances we will make over the next 15 years and beyond.”
Intrinsic ID has steadily grown throughout its history with its underlying technology continuing to receive industry accolades. Over the last few years, the company has experienced accelerated momentum, doubling its revenue, exponentially expanding the number of devices containing its technology and gaining traction in new, high-growth market sectors such as automotive, data centers, and IoT. The company’s two most recent product launches underscore its commitment and leadership in IoT security.
A unique identity
Recently, Intrinsic ID became the world’s first IP provider to achieve PSA Certified Level 3 Root of Trust (RoT) Component Certification with QuiddiKey 300 – one of a series of new products customized for key target markets such as automotive, data centers, government/defense and IoT. In addition, the new Intrinsic ID software-based solution, Zign®, which enables every connected device to have a unique identity and hardware-based security anchor, offers device-level security to new or existing IoT devices and has been nominated for IoT Product of the Year as part of the Elektra Awards 2023.
“Intrinsic ID has been working on commercializing the use of PUF technology for security and authentication purposes longer than any other vendor,” added Geert-Jan Schrijen, co-founder and CTO of Intrinsic ID. “We play a key role in making the digital world more secure in hundreds of millions of devices from smartwatches to satellites. As the need for security is everywhere, our solutions are becoming more relevant for a wider range of applications and industries.”
Intrinsic ID was formed based on pioneering work with SRAM PUF. This initial work is still relevant today. The founders of Intrinsic ID, along with colleagues from Philips Research, published a paper in 2007 titled: “FPGA PUFs and Their Use for IP Protection.” Since its publication, this paper has been cited over 1500 times. It was recently named one of the three “most noticeable” papers in the 25-year history of the annual Conference on Cryptographic Hardware and Embedded Systems (CHES). CHES is the premier venue for research on the design and analysis of cryptographic hardware and software implementations.
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