Aspects Software of Edinburgh, UK, a developer of Java Card software systems for the smart and SIM card markets, has received £5 million in funding led by Royal Bank Ventures (RBV), the technology venture capital fund of The Royal Bank of Scotland.
Gavin Petken, investment director at RBV, has joined Aspects’ board of directors. Alongside RBV, all of the existing investors - Scottish Equity Partners, 3i and Commerzbank Securities- made follow-on investments
With over 220 customers in 33 countries, ten-year old Aspects was one of the first companies to develop and supply test tools in the smart card market. The company says the new funding is part of a push to expand internationally and penetrate the market for Java card operating systems.
Robert Brown, CEO of Aspects, comments: "With the market for smart cards growing rapidly this new funding could not be better timed for Aspects."
The company has recently completed development of its Java Card IDE, a visual development environment which enables users to customise their own smart cards and SIMs through the use of Java applets.
Stuart Paterson, investment director at Scottish Equity Partners, says: "Aspects’ new operating system will enable lower card costs and greater functionality for the issuers of cards such as mobile operators, banks and providers of ID and security.”