Foxit Software

Foxit Software, Chinese: 福昕软件, is a Chinese[1][2][3] software company that develops Portable Document Format (PDF) software and tools used to create, edit, sign, and secure files and digital documents.[4] The company is incorporated in Fujian, China and listed in China's Shanghai Stock Exchange STAR Market under the symbol 688095. Its headquarters is in Fuzhou, China;[2] it also has other offices Beijing, Fremont, California, Berlin, South Yarra (Australia),[5][6] Japan, Taiwan, Korea, and France.[7]

This article is about Foxit Software (company). For Foxit PDF Reader, see Foxit Reader.
Foxit Software, Inc.
IndustrySoftware
Founded2001
FounderEugene Y. Xiong
HeadquartersFuzhou, China
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Chairman and Founder: Eugene Y. Xiong

CEO: George Z Gao

CTO: Steven Li
ProductsPDF software (Foxit Reader) and development kits
Number of employees
Over 325 (7 offices worldwide)
Websitewww.foxitsoftware.com

As of 2016, there were about 425 million Foxit users of Foxit's software, with sales to more than 100,000 customers in 200 countries.[8][9]

History

Foxit Software was founded in 2001[6] by Eugene Y. Xiong (Chinese: 熊雨前), a Chinese national with permanent residence in the United States,[3] to develop similar PDF software products to those from Adobe Systems and other PDF vendors, and offer them at lower prices.[10]

In 2009, Foxit Software Company incorporated as Foxit Corporation.[6]

In December 2015, Foxit went public on the Chinese over-the-counter market NEEQ.[11] Before 2019, Amazon was an early investor and substantial shareholder of Foxit, once owning 12.38％ of the latter's shares, before divesting in 2019 to make Foxit eligible for a simplified IPO process for domestic companies in China.[12]

In June 2020, the parent company of the group, Fujian Foxit Software Development Joint Stock Co., Ltd., received permission to list in the Shanghai Stock Exchange STAR Market (the Sci-Tech Innovation Board).[13] According to Foxit's pre-IPO disclosures, it seeks to raise RMB 409 million (approximately USD 49 million).[13]

As a technology company, Foxit is eligible to receive a reduced tax rate of 15% in China.[3] It also received RMB 13 million of Chinese government subsidies in 2019.[3] As of 2019, most of Foxit's software development has been taking place within China, while over 90% of its revenue was earned outside of China, in markets such as the United States, Europe, Japan and Australia.[3] The vast majority of its net profit is sourced from the United States.[3] It listed Adobe Inc. as its biggest competitor.[2]

Standards involvement

Foxit has contributed to the evolution of ISO 32000 and ISO 19005 standards.[6][14]

Key people
  • Eugene Y. Xiong, Founder, Chairman of the Board, and CEO. Xiong owns over 51% of the company as of 2020, before its IPO.[15][2]
  • George Z. Gao, Director, Vice-President and CEO of Foxit United States[3]
  • Pujiang Zhai, Director and Vice-President[3]
  • Steven Li, Chief Technology Officer
  • Phil Lee, Chief Revenue Officer
  • Frank Kettenstock, Chief Marketing Officer
  • Carsten Heiermann, CEO of Foxit Europe
  • Susana De Abrew, President of Foxit SDK BU

Business development

Foxit Reader

The company’s first product, Foxit Reader, was released in 2004.[6] It provides a way to view, create and sign PDF files, and add annotations to them.[16] Foxit Reader 3.0 offers comparable functionality to Adobe Reader.[17] Older versions were notable for their speed and small file sizes.[18] Foxit released version 8.0 in 2016.[19] The software is pre-installed on Windows PCs from HP, Acer, and ASUS.[20] Foxit released version 9.0 in 2017.The software is available as a freeware download for PCs running Windows 7 (or later), MacOS and Linux.[21][22]

Foxit PhantomPDF

Foxit PhantomPDF, a multi-feature PDF editor, was released in 2008. Foxit PhantomPDF has an interface that holds many advanced, PDF editing and security features.[23] Foxit released version 8.0 in 2016.[19]

ConnectedPDF

ConnectedPDF, released in 2016, extends the traditional portable document format by associating a unique identifier with each PDF, thereby enabling capabilities such as file update notifications, document locating and tracking, shared and synchronized review and mark-up, and remote digital rights management and protection.[24]

ConnectedPDF is not a stand-alone product. Functionality is embedded within some of Foxit’s PDF software products. ConnectedPDF is included in the latest releases of Foxit PhantomPDF (version ≥8), Foxit Reader (version ≥8) and Foxit MobilePDF (version ≥5).[24]

PDF Compressor

Foxit PDF Compressor converts scanned documents to PDF or PDF/A, compresses them and uses integrated OCR technology to make them fully text searchable.

Rendition Server

Foxit Rendition Server is an on-premises or cloud web service for centralized document conversion to PDF and PDF/A. It enables the construction of a transformation infrastructure which can be addressed by programs and environments through a web service interface.

OEM relationships

The company has developed original equipment manufacturer relationships with a number of businesses. Foxit’s technology is included in Amazon Kindle,[25] Gmail and Google Chrome.[26] The company has also developed the rendering engine for Google's open-source PDFium project.[27]

SDKs

Foxit also provides a variety of PDF software development kits (SDKs) for developers wanting to create custom PDF applications.[28]

Acquisitions

Foxit has grown organically and through several acquisitions.

CompanyDate of Close
CVISION Technologies August 2017
SumiluxJuly 2016[29]
DebenuMarch 2016[30]
LuraTechOctober 2015[31]
DataintroAugust 2014[32]

Products
Product NameDescription
PhantomPDFMulti-feature PDF software to view, create, edit, collaborate, share, secure, organize, export, OCR, secure, sign and track PDFs. Available in two editions: Standard and Business.[33]
Reader
PDF Compressor
Rendition Server
PDF SDK

PDF Association

Foxit Software is an active member of the PDF Association. LuraTech, acquired by Foxit in 2015, was a founding member of the PDF Association. Carsten Heiermann, founder and CEO of the LuraTech group, is member of the association’s board.[34] Thomas Zellmann, who joined LuraTech in 2001, is the association’s Managing Director.[35]

References
  1. Foxitsoftware. "关于福昕_福昕软件公司介绍_福昕软件官网". www.foxitsoftware.cn (in Chinese). Retrieved 2020-08-27.
  2. "福建福昕软件开发股份有限公司注册申请文件". China Securities Regulatory Commission. 2020-07-26. Retrieved 2020-08-27.
  3. Fujian Foxit Software Development Joint Stock Co., Ltd. (2020-07-06). "福建福昕软件开发股份有限公司科创板首次公开发行股票招股说明书（注册稿）(Draft Pre-IPO Disclosure of Fujian Foxit Software Development Joint Stock Co., Ltd. for the SSE STAR)" (PDF). China Securities Regulatory Commission.
  4. Moorcraft, Bethan. "Time for insurance to ditch paper - there's a new solution". Insurance Business. Retrieved 2018-05-29.
  5. "Learn More About cPDF". www.connectedpdf.com. Retrieved 2016-12-04.
  6. MBDA (2011-05-26). "MBDA Helps Foxit Software Innovate Beyond Borders | MBDA Web Portal". www.mbda.gov. Retrieved 2016-12-04.
  7. "MBDA Helps Foxit Software Innovate Beyond Borders". Minority Business Development Agency. 2011-05-26. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
  8. Mediamax. "Findo announces closure of USD 7 Million Seed Funding Round". iTel.am. Retrieved 2016-12-04.
  9. Findo. "Findo Announces Closure of $7 Million Seed Funding Round with Investment and Integration from Foxit". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved 2016-12-04.
  10. "Planet PDF - PDF Master Series III: Eugene Y. Xiong talks with Planet PDF". www.planetpdf.com. Retrieved 2016-12-04.
  11. "Office Software Company Foxit Poised to Launch Star Market IPO". EqualOcean. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
  12. Jingtian & Gongcheng (2020). "Legal Opinion by Jingtian & Gongcheng on Foxit's IPO in SSE STAR" (PDF). China Securities Regulatory Commission. Retrieved 2020-08-27.
  13. 企业观察报 (2020-07-01). "上市捷报 | 福昕软件IPO通过科创板上市委审核". tech.sina.com.cn. Retrieved 2020-08-27.
  14. "Ratgeber Langzeitarchivierung: Sicher archivieren mit PDF/A - computerwoche.de". www.computerwoche.de. Retrieved 2016-12-04.
  15. "Recent PDF Innovations Offer Organizations Unique and Exciting Opportunities In 2018". CEOWORLD magazine. Retrieved 2017-12-13.
  16. "Foxit Reader". TechRadar. Retrieved 2016-12-04.
  17. "The best free PDF reader 2016". TechRadar. Retrieved 2016-12-04.
  18. "Foxit Software Foxit Reader 3.0". PC World. Retrieved 2016-12-04.
  19. "Foxit Launches ConnectedPDF". KMWorld Magazine. 2016-06-27. Retrieved 2016-12-04.
  20. "Foxit Deal Brings PDF Software to Asus, Acer PCs, Laptops". thevarguy.com. Retrieved 2016-12-04.
  21. "Foxit Reader 9.0 unveils single-key accelerators, plus improves search, commenting and accessibility tools from Softwarecrew | Software Reviews, News, Tips & Tricks". www.softwarecrew.com. Retrieved 2017-11-14.
  22. "Foxit Reader 9.0 major new version released - gHacks Tech News". gHacks Technology News. 2017-11-01. Retrieved 2018-05-29.
  23. "Foxit PhantomPDF Review, 2016 | Top Ten Reviews". TopTenREVIEWS. Retrieved 2016-12-04.
  24. "Foxit Introduces PDF Workflow That Will Rock Team Collaboration". smallbiztrends.com. Retrieved 2016-12-04.
  25. Brian, Matt (2011-12-06). "Amazon Invests in Foxit to Boost Kindle PDF Support". The Next Web. Retrieved 2016-12-04.
  26. "Google Chrome PDF Engine is now Open Source". InfoQ. Retrieved 2016-12-04.
  27. Garthwaite, Emily. "Google throws PDFium into the open source community". IT Pro Portal. Retrieved 2016-12-04.
  28. "Foxit Updates PDF Software Development Kit for Android and iOS/". App Developer Magazine. Retrieved 2016-12-04.
  29. "Foxit Software Announces Acquisition of Cloud Messaging Provider, Sumilux Technologies". Foxit. 12 July 2016. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
  30. "Foxit Software Acquires Debenu, a Leader in Software Developer Tools for the Global PDF Marketplace". Foxit. 16 March 2016. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
  31. "Foxit® acquires LuraTech, leader for server side PDF conversion and compression". Foxit. 7 October 2015. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
  32. "Foxit® acquires data capture leader Dataintro Software". Foxit. 5 August 2014. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
  33. "Foxit Phantom PDF review: An easy alternative to Acrobat for editing PDFs". PCWorld. Retrieved 2016-12-04.
  34. "Board – PDF Association". www.pdfa.org. Retrieved 2016-12-04.
  35. "Staff – PDF Association". www.pdfa.org. Retrieved 2016-12-04.
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