What Athéor does

Athéor S.A.S. is a French privately-held industrial technology company founded in 2010 by Jean-Denis Borras in Montpellier, France. The company has developed and commercialized Glass'in®, a patented glass grafting technology that creates invisible, indelible, and tamperproof unit-level identification marks on glass packaging. The system works by depositing proprietary sol-gel inks via inkjet printing, which are then activated under LED light to form nanometric hybrid glass bonds that chemically adhere to the substrate at room temperature. The technology is protected by two patents and integrates into glass manufacturing lines as three stations (Printing, Grafting, Inspection), with marks readable under blue LED light at industrial speeds and resistant to solvents, acids, bases, and dishwashing.

Athéor's commercial offering combines hardware (the 3-station system and optical reader), consumables (proprietary sol-gel inks), and professional services (consulting, implementation, training, maintenance). The company sells directly to enterprise clients via a field sales motion on custom, contact-based pricing with multi-year contracts typical. Its primary verticals are wine & spirits, pharmaceutical, and cosmetics — industries where counterfeiting, parallel markets, and regulatory compliance create demand for unit-level traceability — with additional reach into automotive, aeronautics, construction, and chemical industries through multi-substrate capability. Named reference customers include one of the largest French champagne houses for bottle traceability, with generic references to international cosmetic groups and pharmaceutical companies.

The company operates as a small, founder-controlled private entity with no disclosed external funding, no subsidiaries, and no public ticker. It maintains an R&D base built on collaborations with the AM2N (Architectures Moléculaires et Matériaux Nanostructurés) laboratory and the Institut Charles Gerhardt (IGM), and has accumulated six innovation awards between 2009 and 2017. Customer acquisition is event-driven, with active participation at French wine and beverage trade shows (Vinitech, VinEquip, VITEFF), and the company is a member of the Vinséo, France Chimie, and Pôle Agri Sud-Ouest Innovation networks.

Name

Athéor

Legal name

Athéor S.A.S.

Website

https://atheor.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Athéor develops and sells Glass'in®, a patented glass grafting technology that creates invisible, indelible unit-level traceability marks on glass packaging for wine & spirits, pharmaceutical, and cosmetics manufacturers in France and Europe.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Traceability Equipment

NAICS

Printing Ink Manufacturing (325910), Glass and Glass Product Manufacturing (32721)

SIC

Coating, Engraving & Allied Services (3470), Printing Trades Machinery & Equipment (3555)

akta.pro primary industry

Security, Tamper-Evident & Track-and-Trace Printing (IMALAKAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Pharmaceutical & Medical Glass Packaging (Vials, Ampoules, Syringes) (IMALAEAB), Cosmetics & Perfumery Glass Packaging (Fragrance Bottles, Cosmetic Jars) (IMALAEAC)

Keywords

• Glass traceability solutions
• Anti-counterfeiting marking
• Unit authentication systems
• Pharmaceutical packaging traceability
• Wine bottle authentication

Headquarters

HQ city

Montpellier

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Glass'in® System Equipment Sales: Sale of industrial equipment comprising three stations (printing, grafting, inspection) for integration into glass manufacturing lines. The system enables unit traceability and authentication on production lines.
2. Consulting and Implementation Services: Professional services including project definition, solution implementation, user training, and system maintenance. Athéor provides comprehensive support from strategy development through deployment of customized traceability solutions.
3. Custom Sol-Gel Ink Formulation: Custom ink development based on Athéor's chemistry expertise, tailored to specific client needs and applications.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Athéor sells the Glass'in® industrial traceability system — a three-station integrated solution (Printing, Grafting, Inspection) installed in glass manufacturing lines. The system uses proprietary sol-gel inks deposited via inkjet and activated under LED light to chemically graft nanometric hybrid glass onto glass surfaces, producing invisible, indelible, tamperproof unit identification marks readable under blue light at industrial speeds. The company also provides consulting, implementation, training, maintenance, and custom ink formulation services tailored to client needs.

Product overview

Athéor offers a unified product portfolio anchored by the Glass'in® technology—a hardware-based glass marking and traceability system protected by two patents. The core offering consists of the Glass'in® 3-Station System (Printing, Grafting, Inspection) integrated with proprietary sol-gel inks and an industrial optical reader. Consulting services complement the product line for customers requiring custom traceability strategy development and implementation support.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Glass'in®: Patented traceability solution for glass packaging using invisible ink grafting technology that creates permanent, tamper-proof marking on glass surfaces.

Products and services

• Glass'in® Traceability System An integrated industrial traceability system for glass packaging consisting of three stations (Printing, Grafting, Inspection) installed on glass manufacturing lines. Proprietary sol-gel inks are deposited by inkjet and activated under LED light to create nanometric hybrid glass chemically bonded to the surface, producing invisible, indelible, tamperproof unit identification marks readable under blue LED light at industrial speeds. Supports DataMatrix, QR code, alphanumeric, and logo/mark encoding, and works on flat glass, obsidian glass, aluminum, tin, and oxidized metals. Designed for large industrial clients in pharmaceutical, cosmetics, wine & spirits, automotive, aeronautics, construction, and chemical sectors.
• Consulting and Implementation Services Professional services for enterprise clients including project definition, traceability strategy development, custom solution implementation, user training, and system maintenance. Athéor provides end-to-end support from strategy development through deployment of customized Glass'in® traceability solutions tailored to specific product needs in wine & spirits, pharmaceutical, cosmetics, and other industrial verticals.
• Custom Sol-Gel Ink Formulation Custom development of sol-gel ink formulations tailored to specific client substrates, production conditions, and application requirements. Formulas are designed to resist organic solvents, acids, bases, and dishwashing while maintaining invisible marking characteristics and industrial reading compatibility.

Quantifiable outcome

• Nearly 10% of medicines on the global market are counterfeit according to WHO
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• AM2N (Architectures Moléculaires et Matériaux Nanostructurés)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMolecular Structures and Nanostructured Materials laboratory. Jean-Denis Borras met with AM2N to collaborate on technology transfer from laboratory to industrial application. This partnership was foundational to developing the Glass'in technology.
• IGM (Institut Charles Gerhardt)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCharles Gerhardt Institute where Olivier Dautel serves as director of research. Collaboration led to patenting of the new Glass'in concept. Key research partnership for technology development.
• BIC (Business Innovation Center) Cap OmégaminorOthersBusiness Innovation Center that incubated Athéor's project. Provided business development support and resources.
• LRI (Languedoc Roussillon Incubation)minorOthersLanguedoc Roussillon Incubation program that supported Athéor's project during its early development stages.
• VinséocoreGTM or Marketing PartnerWine industry network grouping. Athéor exhibits with Vinséo at trade shows including Vinitech. Key network for reaching wine and spirits industry customers in France.
• France ChimieminorGTM or Marketing PartnerFrench chemical industry association. Athéor belongs to this network for industry presence and connections.
• Pôle Agri Sud-Ouest InnovationminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSouth-West Agriculture Innovation cluster. Athéor is a member for industry presence and partnerships in the agricultural sector.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Domino Printing Sciences: Global supplier of coding and marking technologies (CIJ, laser, thermal inkjet) plus label printers, widely used in beverage, pharma, and cosmetics packaging lines for serialization and traceability.
• Videojet: Provider of industrial inkjet, laser marking, and thermal transfer coding equipment plus consumable fluids for product identification on packaging lines. Overlaps directly with Athéor's Glass'in industrial printing/grafting stations targeted at glass packaging customers.
• Markem-Imaje: Industrial inkjet, laser, and thermal transfer coding/marking solutions for packaging lines across food, beverage, pharma, and cosmetics. Directly competes with Athéor's Glass'in by offering alternative traceability marking technologies on packaging lines.
• Schreiner Group: Specialty labels, functional labels, and security/authentication features for pharma and consumer brands, including tamper-evident labels and security printing. Closely comparable as a security/traceability provider serving pharma and luxury packaging customers.

Broad incumbents

• SICPA: Global provider of security inks, traceability solutions, and authentication services for governments, pharma, and consumer goods. A much larger incumbent in the security/traceability space relevant to Athéor's anti-counterfeiting focus.
• Cognex: Leading machine vision and industrial barcode/2D code reading systems for factory automation and traceability. Relevant as the industrial identification vendor whose readers complement or compete with Athéor's Glass'in optical reading station.

Emerging players

• LEONHARD KURZ: Specializes in thin-film security features, hot stamping foils, and decorative/security surface treatments for packaging and product authentication. Adjacent comparable as a provider of authentication features on packaging surfaces.
• AlpVision: Provides digital authentication and anti-counterfeiting solutions (invisible marking, cryptographic signatures) for pharmaceuticals and luxury goods. Comparable as a niche authentication/traceability specialist targeting similar counterfeiting-sensitive verticals.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Athéor