Nov 06, 2007This article was originally published by RFID Update.
November 6, 2007—Last week, the relatively unknown Tego of Waltham, Massachusetts, announced $6 million in Series A funding led by Bainco International Investors, an asset management and wealth advisory firm also based in Massachusetts. The company, which was founded in April of 2005, develops high-memory passive RFID tags and systems. It will use the funding to commercialize its technology, planning to bring a solution to market over the next year.
Tego's site does not provide much detail about the technology, stating only that it is passive RFID with high memory capabilities. The first market the company will go after is aerospace, whose tag data storage requirements are large. In particular, maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) is an aerospace application that requires high storage capabilities, since a tagged object's maintenance and repair history is stored directly on the tag. While this may sound like a narrow application, some believe that in fact it represents a solid opportunity. ABI Research published a briefing that asserted as much last year (see MRO is Major RFID Opportunity for Aero and Defense).
Tego has its eye on markets beyond aerospace, as well. "Once proven, we see tremendous market opportunity for high memory, passive RFID tag solutions. The aerospace industry is just the beginning," Bainco's founder and managing partner Samuel Bain was quoted in the release.
Other potential opportunities cited on the company's site include supply chain management for a number of industries, asset tracking, performance management, regulatory compliance, and security and authentication. The company did not return calls requesting comment.
Interesting to note that the management team includes a couple individuals that previously worked at RFID reader manufacturer ThingMagic. Steven Beckhardt, Tego's director of systems architecture, was vice president of software engineering at ThingMagic, while VP of strategic marketing Larry Moore was ThingMagic's vice president of strategy.
Read the announcement from Tego
