Broadcom buys NFC specialist Innovision for $47.5million
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Broadcom is to acquire Innovision Research & Technology in a cash valuing the latter at $47.5million. Broadcom says the move will provide it with important technology and engineering talent, allowing it to further develop its communications portfolio.
Innovation focuses on short range data communications, with a focus on Near Field Communications (NFC) and RFID. An attraction for Broadcom is its engineering and system design capability.
Chief executive David Wollen, pictured, said: "We are proud to have developed NFC technology to the leading position it is in today and feel that now is an appropriate time to allow a global corporation with the commitment and financial resources to progress it to the next level."
Broadcom believes NFC will find increasing application in mobile phones and other mobile devices and the move will allow it to roll out products featuring NFC more quickly. In particular, Innovision's NFC IP will support the move towards 'combo' chips, in which multiple communications technologies are integrated into one device
Meanwhile, Innovision has added Topaz-512 to its family of low cost tags.
With 512byte of memory, Topaz-512 will help fill the gap between low memory tags and the high cost products that target high security payment applications.
"Clearly, payment and ticketing will be an important part of NFC evolution," says Stephen Graham, Innovisions' vp of marketing, "but non payment applications are emerging as a key driver for early NFC adoption. Innovision is committed to supporting new markets and opportunities and Topaz-512 is evidence of this and our role at the forefront of NFC development."
