According to ACCESS Newswire, Charlie’s Holdings, Inc. (OTCQB: CHUC) announced on January 5th that the company has signed a binding licensing agreement with IKE Tech LLC, and will promote the commercialization of a system for age verification startup for vaping products in the United States.
According to the agreement, Charlie’s will obtain the license to use the IKE age verification technology. This system integrates biometric authentication, low-power Bluetooth (BLE) hardware, and mobile applications. Through a continuous and real-time age verification mechanism, it restricts the activation and use of the device to only adults who have completed the age verification process.
IKE Tech is a joint venture company specializing in identity and age verification technologies for electronic cigarettes and related products. It was jointly established by Ispire Technology Inc., Touch Point Worldwide Inc. (operating under the name Berify), and Chemular Inc.
According to the company’s disclosure, this technology integrates a patented BLE system-level chip with the biometric function in the mobile phone application. When the Bluetooth connection is interrupted or the device is not used within the set time limit, the device will automatically shut down.
Charlie’s stated that the company plans to conduct a pilot commercial launch of the age verification system in the US market in the spring of 2026. The first application will be to its SBX brand nicotine analog products. At the same time, the company also plans to introduce this technology into its PACHA brand electronic nicotine delivery system (ENDS) products in the subsequent stages.
The company also disclosed the results of a multi-center human factors validation study (Human Factors Validation Study), which evaluated the performance of the system in preventing minors from using it, its usability, and its safety. According to the company’s disclosure, all participants successfully completed the age verification, no minors were able to activate the device, and all devices automatically deactivated when the Bluetooth signal was lost or inactive.
Charlie further stated that 91% of the users rated the application as “very easy to use” or “extremely easy to use”, and the error rate during operation was approximately 1%. The company indicated that the complete research results will be published on clinicaltrials.gov.
According to the terms of the licensing agreement, Charlie’s stated that it has obtained a three-year exclusive period for using this age verification technology in the field of nicotine analog products.
Charlie’s management stated that the company regards age verification as part of its compliance strategy, and noted that its SBX nicotine analogue products do not require pre-market authorization from the FDA, thus enabling the deployment of related technologies in the US market first.
Charlie’s Holdings, Inc. operates its vaping product business through its subsidiary Charlie’s Chalk Dust, LLC. The products are sold to some overseas markets. IKE Tech stated that its technology is designed to help manufacturers embed access control functions in vaping devices, in order to restrict the products to be used only by adults who have completed identity and age verification.