This article was originally published by RFID Update.
March 20, 2007—Wealth and asset management firm Robert W. Baird & Co. has released its RFID Monthly for March. Baird has given RFID Update permission to reprint the Key Developments section (below), which offers the report highlights. For those wanting more detail, the complete 15-page document is available free here.
The standard matrix of primary RFID providers is on page 12, and following are the Key Developments:
- Intel Develops Integrated Chipset for Readers. Intel unveiled the R1000 chipset for Gen2-based RFID readers (see Intel Announces Gen2 RFID Reader Chip). We view this as the beginning of more fully integrated silicon solutions for readers, which is important to drive down costs and enhance performance. We believe such solutions will be important in driving RFID adoption. ThingMagic and Alien have announced products that feature the R1000 product (see RFID Reader Vendors Rally Around Intel’s New Chip). We expect other vendors will seek to offer more fully integrated silicon.
- Venture and Strategic Funding an Important Industry Barometer. We see increasing financial activity in the RFID space. During the past two years, we have seen a good amount of venture and strategic funding, with the middle of 2006 showing some slowing. However, in recent months, we have seen activity increase as more players seem to be seeking funding for expansion. Impinj (Impinj Secures $19m to Pursue Item-Level RFID), Confidex (RFID Tag Provider Confidex Lands EUR 5m), and AeroScout all announced new funding in the past month, and we expect to see more deals in the next several months. Recall in January, we also discussed the increases in M&A activity. We believe the increases in funding and the M&A activity demonstrate increased confidence in RFID opportunities.
- Distribution Development Increasing. We also see the development of the distribution channel as a key indicator that the RFID industry is gaining traction. Activity at ScanSource and BlueStar appears to be increasing, and Ingram Micro recently entered the market to distribute readers for Impinj. We are also seeing an increased number of solutions deployed from the automated data capture reseller base.
- RFID Conference Season Heating Up. The next several months represent the bulk of the RFID conference activity for the year, including RFID World in Dallas March 26-29, the DoD RFID Summit in Washington, D.C April 3-4, and RFID Journal Live! in Orlando April 30-May 2. Robert Baird & Co. will be participating in each of these events. We provide additional detail in the RFID Briefs section.
Download the full Baird RFID Monthly (pdf)
