Innovation

DoubleDay Holdings, a private equity firm based in Dayton, Ohio, USA, focused on emerging technology businesses, and Vision Objects, a privately-held firm specializing in handwriting recognition technology, announced today that DoubleDay will acquire all outstanding shares of Vision Objects. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Vision Objects, located in Nantes area,  develops and markets its proprietary MyScript technology, the most advanced and accurate handwriting recognition technology available on the market. MyScript has more than four million users worldwide with offerings in 87 languages.
Founded in 1998, Vision Objects’ technology covers a broad spectrum of market applications including form processing, notes management, education, mobility & messaging, and automotive.

The acquisition of Vision Objects complements DoubleDay’s previous investments in digital writing that include ownership of ExpeData, a global leader in enterprise digital writing solutions, and significant share holdings in publicly-held Anoto Group, whose unique technology for digital pen and paper enables transmission of handwritten text into a digital format.

« We believe in the power of handwriting recognition technology and the benefits it delivers to education, consumer and business markets, and we consider Vision Objects an important player in the growth of digital writing,” said Paddy Padmanabhan, managing director of DoubleDay Holdings. « Vision Objects will provide us with the core competency needed to enhance our digital writing investment portfolio.”

Stefan Knerr, CEO of Vision Objects, said: « Joining forces with DoubleDay will allow Vision Objects to accelerate our innovation process and build on our global business momentum. We will be better able to leverage our expertise and deliver new handwriting recognition capabilities. As we serve our customers in all markets – from health care, financial services, transportation and education to the rapidly emerging e-devices market – Vision Objects will continue to innovate and work in close collaboration with our partners.”