Foxit Software Explained

Fujian Foxit Software Development Joint Stock Co., Ltd.
Native Name:福建福昕软件开发股份有限公司
Logo Alt:Foxit Software logo
Type:Public
Founded:2001
Founder:Eugene Y. Xiong
Hq Location:Fuzhou, China
Area Served:Worldwide
Key People:Eugene Y. Xiong (Chairman and Founder), George Z Gao (CEO), Jeremy Wei (CTO)
Owner:Eugene Y. Xiong (38.48%)
Industry:Software
Products:PDF software (Foxit Reader) and development kits
Num Employees:Over 650 worldwide

Fujian Foxit Software Development Joint Stock Co., Ltd., also known as Foxit Software,[1] is a software developer based in Fuzhou, China, with subsidiaries in the United States, Europe, Japan, and Australia,[2] [3] [4] that develops Portable Document Format (PDF) software and tools used to create, edit, eSign, and secure files and digital documents.[5] It also has other offices in Fuzhou, Beijing, Berlin, South Yarra (Melbourne),[6] [7] Japan, Taiwan, Korea, France,[8] North Macedonia, and Slovakia.

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.[9] [10]

Foxit Software was named "#2 Best PDF Editor Software of 2022" by ComHQ.[11]

History

Foxit Software was founded in 2001 by Eugene Y. Xiong (Chinese:), a Chinese national with permanent residence in the United States, to develop similar PDF software products to those from Adobe Systems and other PDF vendors, and offer them at lower prices.[12] In 2009, Foxit Software Company incorporated as Foxit Corporation.

In December 2015, Foxit went public on the Chinese over-the-counter market NEEQ.[13] 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.[14]

In June 2020, Foxit Software received permission to list in the Shanghai Stock Exchange STAR Market (the Sci-Tech Innovation Board).[15] According to Foxit's pre-IPO disclosures, it seeks to raise RMB 409 million (approximately USD 49 million).

As a technology company, Foxit is eligible to receive a reduced tax rate of 15% in China. It also received RMB 13 million of Chinese government subsidies in 2019. 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. The vast majority of its net profit is sourced from the United States. It listed Adobe Inc. as its biggest competitor.

Acquisitions

Foxit has grown organically and through several acquisitions.

Company Date of close
CVISION Technologies (merged with Foxit Software Inc.)August 2017
Sumilux July 2016[16]
Debenu (renamed Foxit Australia) March 2016[17]
LuraTech (renamed Foxit Europe) October 2015[18]
Dataintro August 2014[19]
eSignGenieOctober 2021 [20]

Standards involvement

Foxit has contributed to the evolution of ISO 32000 and ISO 19005 standards.[21]

Products

Product name FormerlyPlatform
PDF Editor ProFoxit PhantomPDF BusinessWindows Only
PDF EditorFoxit PhantomPDF Standard, Foxit PhantomPDF Online, Foxit PhantomPDF Mac, Foxit PDF Reader Mobile (with optional in-product purchases)Windows, macOS, Web, iOS, Android, and Chromebooks
PDF ReaderFoxit Reader, Foxit PDF Reader MobileWindows, macOS, Web, iOS, Android, and Chromebooks
Foxit eSignFoxit Signsee features
Volume AutomationPDF Compressor, Rendition Server, Digital Transformation Services, Maestro Server OCRWeb, Windows, Linux
PDF SDK N/AWeb, Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, iOS, Universal Windows Platform (UWS)

Foxit Reader

The company's first product, Foxit Reader, was released in 2004. It provides a way to view, create and sign PDF files, and add annotations to them.[22] Foxit Reader 3.0 offers comparable functionality to Adobe Reader.[23] Older versions were notable for their speed and small file sizes.[24] Foxit released version 8.0 in 2016.[25] The software is pre-installed on Windows PCs from HP, Acer, and ASUS.[26] Foxit released version 9.0 in 2017. The software is available as a freeware download for PCs running Windows 7 (or later), MacOS and older versions of Linux.[27] [28] [29]

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.[30] Foxit released version 8.0 in 2016. The software has been renamed from Foxit PhantomPDF to Foxit PDF Editor with the release of Foxit PDF Editor 11.0.0.49893 dated May 25, 2021.[31]

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.[32] 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).

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,[33] Gmail and Google Chrome.[34] The company has also developed the rendering engine for Google's open-source PDFium project.[35]

SDKs

Foxit also provides a variety of PDF software development kits (SDKs) for developers wanting to create custom PDF applications.[36]

Industry association memberships

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.[37] Thomas Zellmann, who joined LuraTech in 2001, is the association’s Managing Director.[38]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Company Introduction. Shanghai Stock Exchange.
  2. Web site: 福建福昕软件开发股份有限公司 2021 年年度报告 (Fujian Foxit Software Development Joint Stock Co., Ltd. 2021 Annual Report). Shanghai Stock Exchange.
  3. Web site: 2020-07-26. 福建福昕软件开发股份有限公司注册申请文件. 2020-08-27. China Securities Regulatory Commission.
  4. Web site: 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). China Securities Regulatory Commission.
  5. Web site: Time for insurance to ditch paper — there's a new solution. Moorcraft. Bethan. Insurance Business. 2018-05-29.
  6. Web site: Learn More About cPDF. www.connectedpdf.com. 2016-12-04. 2017-02-09. https://web.archive.org/web/20170209145815/https://www.connectedpdf.com/contact.html. dead.
  7. Web site: MBDA Helps Foxit Software Innovate Beyond Borders MBDA Web Portal. MBDA. 2011-05-26. www.mbda.gov. 2016-12-04. 2016-12-21. https://web.archive.org/web/20161221204251/http://www.mbda.gov/pressroom/success-stories/mbda-helps-foxit-software-innovate-beyond-borders. dead.
  8. Web site: 2011-05-26. MBDA Helps Foxit Software Innovate Beyond Borders. 2020-06-29. Minority Business Development Agency. en.
  9. News: Findo announces closure of USD 7 Million Seed Funding Round. Mediamax. iTel.am. 2016-12-04.
  10. Findo Announces Closure of $7 Million Seed Funding Round with Investment and Integration from Foxit. Findo. www.prnewswire.com. 2016-12-04.
  11. Web site: 2022-02-21 . Best PDF Editor Software Of 2022 ComHQ . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20220602153010/https://www.comhq.com/resources/pdf-editor/ . 2022-06-02 . 2022-06-21 . en-US.
  12. Web site: PDF Master Series III: Eugene Y. Xiong talks with Planet PDF. 2016-12-04. Planet PDF .
  13. Web site: Office Software Company Foxit Poised to Launch Star Market IPO. 2020-06-29. EqualOcean. en.
  14. Web site: Jingtian & Gongcheng. 2020. Legal Opinion by Jingtian & Gongcheng on Foxit's IPO in SSE STAR. 2020-08-27. China Securities Regulatory Commission.
  15. Web site: 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. 2020-08-27. tech.sina.com.cn.
  16. Web site: Foxit Software Announces Acquisition of Cloud Messaging Provider, Sumilux Technologies. Foxit. 4 December 2016. 12 July 2016.
  17. Web site: Foxit Software Acquires Debenu, a Leader in Software Developer Tools for the Global PDF Marketplace. Foxit. 4 December 2016. 16 March 2016.
  18. Web site: Foxit® acquires LuraTech, leader for server side PDF conversion and compression. Foxit. 4 December 2016. 7 October 2015.
  19. Web site: Foxit® acquires data capture leader Dataintro Software. Foxit. 4 December 2016. 5 August 2014.
  20. Web site: Foxit Acquires eSignature Software Leader, eSign Genie. 2021-12-17. Foxit. en.
  21. Web site: Ratgeber Langzeitarchivierung: Sicher archivieren mit PDF/A . www.computerwoche.de. 2016-12-04.
  22. Web site: Foxit Reader. TechRadar. 2016-12-04.
  23. News: The best free PDF reader 2016. TechRadar. 2016-12-04.
  24. Web site: Foxit Software Foxit Reader 3.0. PC World. 2016-12-04. 2017-04-14. https://web.archive.org/web/20170414225451/http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/review/foxit_software/foxit_reader_3_0/298071/. dead.
  25. News: Foxit Launches ConnectedPDF. 2016-06-27. KMWorld Magazine. en-US. 2016-12-04.
  26. Web site: Foxit Deal Brings PDF Software to Asus, Acer PCs, Laptops. thevarguy.com. 2016-12-04. 2017-10-30. https://web.archive.org/web/20171030004557/http://thevarguy.com/computer-technology-hardware-solutions-and-news/120114/foxit-deal-brings-pdf-software-asus-and-acer-pcs-and. dead.
  27. Web site: Foxit Reader locks up - Linux Mint 64 bit Cinnammon. 2021-07-20. PDF Forum Foxit Software. 28 June 2021 . en.
  28. Web site: 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. en-US. 2017-11-14.
  29. News: Foxit Reader 9.0 major new version released . 2017-11-01. gHacks Technology News. 2018-05-29. en-US.
  30. News: Foxit PhantomPDF Review, 2016 Top Ten Reviews. TopTenREVIEWS. 2016-12-04.
  31. Web site: Foxit PDF Editor Version History Foxit Software. 2021-09-23. Foxit. en.
  32. Web site: Foxit Introduces PDF Workflow That Will Rock Team Collaboration. smallbiztrends.com. 28 June 2016 . 2016-12-04.
  33. News: Amazon Invests in Foxit to Boost Kindle PDF Support. Brian. Matt. 2011-12-06. The Next Web. en-US. 2016-12-04.
  34. Web site: Google Chrome PDF Engine is now Open Source. InfoQ. 2016-12-04.
  35. Web site: Google throws PDFium into the open source community. Garthwaite. Emily. IT Pro Portal. 2016-12-04.
  36. Web site: Foxit Updates PDF Software Development Kit for Android and iOS/. App Developer Magazine. 2016-12-04.
  37. Web site: Board . PDF Association. 2016-12-04.
  38. Web site: Staff . PDF Association. 2016-12-04.