Security Matters (ASX:SMX): Interview with CEO Haggai Alon

Security Matters (ASX:SMX): We spoke with CEO Haggai Alon about the company’s technology that enables tracking & tracing throughout supply chains and helps prevent counterfeiting and provides validation of these supply chains.

See full transcript below.

 

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Transcript

 

Marc: Hello, and welcome to Stocks Down Under. My name is Marc Kennis. I am one of the co-founders of the firm. And today, we’re talking to Haggai Alon who is the CEO of Security Matters. Welcome, Haggai.

Haggai: Thank you. Good morning.

Marc: I remember we met a couple years ago in Tel Aviv, about three and a half, four years ago. Time flies and Security Matters had a very interesting journey so far. Can you tell us a little bit for people that know the company, tell us a little bit about the company, and what problems are that you’re solving for your customers or your partners?

Haggai: We are the pretty face of start-up nation. We took a technology developed by the Israeli government. We scaled that. We IPOed in Australia. We have had a wonderful journey until now. No founding shareholder has sold stock. And what we do, we have this unique, you might call it, chemical bar code that can mark solid, liquid, and gas phases, only we can read it, and we log everything on the blockchain on what we called the digital twin.

So what you really have is the connection, the secure ecosystem connection between the physical and the digital world. So on one technology you get everything related to trace of origin, supply chain transparency, and ethical sourcing, and dealing with the waste and recycling. How we do it? Because, the market survives on all three lifecycles, from raw material or virgin material, to product, to waste. This is what we provide some of the biggest companies in the world.

Marc: All right. And can you tell us a little bit about how the technology itself works and also what sort of protection, any protection you’ve got in place?

Haggai: Yes. So, the technology, because we work on molecular level, we are able to embed it in what we called machineless or dropping solution. So if you work with liquids, we would provide you a liquid. If you work with powders, we will provide you powder, and gas, etc, etc. So, we can embed our marker in any stage of the value chain of production what makes it very efficient, very commercial, and very easy to deploy fast. And our leaders are either handheld or conveyable so if you have a big recovery, material recovery, or recycling of production line, we are able to give you an end-to-end service.

Marc: And to what extent has it been patented?

Haggai: SMX is proud to have almost 100 patents in various stages. Our IP is unique and novel. We have close to 100 patents in various stages, 11 PhDs in the company, and our patents are unique. Part of it at the fact that they connect physical marking object to digital nodes. Not only that, two months ago, we released maybe one of the first patents in the world that enables us to take the marking, grading, certifying system of plastic waste, and trading it on the stock exchange. So what we really do, we make out of the waste what I called the new gold. The marking and trading afterwards of the waste will become a new marketplace on financial markets we believe next year.

Marc: All right. And I think part of your strategy is working with, and we’ll talk about that a bit later, but part of the strategy is to work with, you know, to work in collaboration within partnerships. I think BASF is might be one of the oldest ones that you’ve been working with, but LVMH is another one. Can you talk us through what prompted them to work with you? Because there are other alternatives out there, but they specifically chose Security Matters to work with.

Haggai: And also we should add Continental. What I believe has made them work with us is the fact that with one technology, you can go from the raw and virgin material to the waste. And then with one technology, you can cover any kind of material, which is very, very unique and something that actually only we can do. It doesn’t matter if it’s a plastic, or metal, or fabric, we can mark and track any kind of material. More than that, our blockchain system is very lean and friendly. So what they get with one technology is everything related to the sustainability and also to everything which regards to the KPIs on recycling and meeting goals of sustainability.

Marc: All right. Then talk about your strategy. Can you talk us through that, what steps you see? And then also related to that obviously is the commercialization pathway forward.

Haggai: Our strategy is very clean and simple. We are a white label B2B solution. We create the IP, the toolbox. We built a platform that connects the physical to the digital, to the different stakeholders around the brands. And we licensed this platform to be scaled to the biggest companies in the world under two understandings, A, obviously they will use it and B, they will push it to be the best practice and industry standard. So we get with one stretch two critical achievements, commercial agreements with big scale and volume, and the ability to be the best breed for all the big and leading companies that want to comply with the high standard.

Marc: Right. So, basically, there’s no other choice in that scenario than to join up with you, because you would be de facto industry standard at that point.

Haggai: This is where we are heading.

Marc: Right. Okay. And looking at some of the medium-term ambitions, can talk us, you know, tell us a little bit about where you plan to go, and also longer-term, where you see the company’s whole goal in the longer term?

Haggai: We are in the process of scaling in rapid pace, very rapid, COP26. And the fact that more than two weeks climate change and sustainability goals are top in the news cycle has created immense pressure on the leading companies in the world who I believe will bring the change. The big companies in the world who adopt innovation, who start to deal with large and vast amounts of their waste, bring the change, and in that sense, using our technology that can be deployed today is where we are going. We are the answer for the coming 10 years. You don’t need new chemistry. You don’t need new facilities. You can incorporate our technology immediately into the facilities and into the existing parameters of success and sustainability they have already committed to. And this is a huge advantage, the ability to be able to embed our technology immediately in any kind of material and at any stage.

Marc: All right, exciting times, Haggai. Thank you very much for your time today.

Haggai: Thank you very much. I do believe that SMX is investing in the future, but changing today. Thank you very much.

Marc: Thank you.