NEXT Biometrics Gets $1M COVID-19 Relief Shot in its US Arm

“The capital is meant to help NEXT Biometrics cover its payroll and overhead expenses at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted operations and the broader economy.”

NEXT Biometrics‘ US-based subsidiary, NEXT Biometrics Inc., has received a $1 million loan through the US government’s COVID-19 relief program for businesses, the company has announced.

Issued as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act of 2020, the loan carries an interest rate of only one percent across a two-year term; and in a statement announcing the facility, NEXT Biometrics said that it may qualify for loan forgiveness for a substantial portion of the loan. The capital is meant to help NEXT Biometrics cover its payroll and overhead expenses at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted operations and the broader economy.

“The Covid-19 lockdown in Seattle, WA has led to that Next US R&D employees must carry their duties from home offices,” explained NEXT Biometrics CEO Peter Heuman, adding later, “The loan and the recently announced cost reductions in our global operations will contribute in extending our financial runway.”

Those cost reductions, announced only last week, are aimed at dramatically reducing NEXT Biometrics’ operational expenses run rate, with Heuman having described the effort as a plan to “reset the company”. While the fingerprint biometrics specialist has emphasized the importance of this long-term cost reduction plan, it nevertheless reported much improved revenues in its latest quarterly report, compared to a low point reached in the previous fiscal update, for Q4 of 2019.

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May 5, 2020 – by Alex Perala