RFID technology vendor's latest investors include founder of MIT's Media Laboratory
Cambridge, MA — February 6, 2006 — Radio frequency identification (RFID) technology developer ThingMagic has drawn new funding, bringing in financing from new investors that include networking equipment company Cisco Systems and Nicholas Negroponte, founding chairman of Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Media Laboratory.
ThingMagic's private financing totals $21 million, including a line of credit from Silicon Valley Bank.
"Like the Internet, RFID is an infrastructure-driven technology," said Mohsen Moazami, vice president of retail-consumer products distribution for Cisco Systems. "It requires easily managed network solutions that scale, are non-disruptive and have low cost of ownership. Cisco is an active member and supporter of the RFID industry. We partner with a number of industry leaders, including ThingMagic, that specialize in networked RFID solutions, making this investment a natural fit for our RFID strategy."
"I've known ThingMagic's founders since they were students at the MIT Media Lab, and then, as now, they stood out among their peers," said Negroponte, who, in addition to being a professor at MIT, is a noted futurist and author of the bestselling book Being Digital. "It's no surprise ThingMagic has made unparalleled advances in RFID, and I'm enthusiastic about supporting the company's R&D and strategic initiatives."
"Cisco is an excellent match as an investor in ThingMagic," said Tom Grant, ThingMagic's chairman and CEO. "Its deep understanding of the enterprise networking market, as well as its approach to wireless networking in general and RFID in particular, will be invaluable to us as we design and develop the RFID-based network infrastructure. Nicholas Negroponte has been a source of guidance and encouragement from the company's founding."
ThingMagic's Mercury4 RFID reader platform was designed to read any RFID tag. It is certified by EPCglobal and MET Labs for all three Generation 2 RFID modes, including the complex dense reader mode. ThingMagic said that this architecture allows Mercury4 readers to be remotely updated for future Generation 2 variants and other new RFID standards, helping to ensure that customers will continue to have the latest RFID technology available.
Other investors in ThingMagic include The Tudor Group and affiliated funds, The Exxel Group, Inventec Appliances Corp., Morningside Technology Ventures Ltd., and Top Line Capital LLC. The company was founded in 2000 and is based in Cambridge, Mass.
Additional Articles of Interest
— RFID technology has the potential to change the way supply chains are managed, but in order to be effective businesses need to take a holistic look at the deployment. Read more in the SDCExec.com article "Time for RFID: Applying RFID in the Supply Chain."
— For a contrary view of the future of the RFID market, see the article "The O'RFID Factor: A 'No Spin' Look at Where Radio Frequency Identification Is Headed," in the October/November 2004 issue of Supply & Demand Chain Executive.
— For more information on trends relating to radio frequency identification (RFID), follow this link for an extensive listing of SDCExec.com articles, featuring the latest research findings on the RFID, including adoption, return on investment and barriers to implementation.
Cambridge, MA — February 6, 2006 — Radio frequency identification (RFID) technology developer ThingMagic has drawn new funding, bringing in financing from new investors that include networking equipment company Cisco Systems and Nicholas Negroponte, founding chairman of Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Media Laboratory.
ThingMagic's private financing totals $21 million, including a line of credit from Silicon Valley Bank.
"Like the Internet, RFID is an infrastructure-driven technology," said Mohsen Moazami, vice president of retail-consumer products distribution for Cisco Systems. "It requires easily managed network solutions that scale, are non-disruptive and have low cost of ownership. Cisco is an active member and supporter of the RFID industry. We partner with a number of industry leaders, including ThingMagic, that specialize in networked RFID solutions, making this investment a natural fit for our RFID strategy."
"I've known ThingMagic's founders since they were students at the MIT Media Lab, and then, as now, they stood out among their peers," said Negroponte, who, in addition to being a professor at MIT, is a noted futurist and author of the bestselling book Being Digital. "It's no surprise ThingMagic has made unparalleled advances in RFID, and I'm enthusiastic about supporting the company's R&D and strategic initiatives."
"Cisco is an excellent match as an investor in ThingMagic," said Tom Grant, ThingMagic's chairman and CEO. "Its deep understanding of the enterprise networking market, as well as its approach to wireless networking in general and RFID in particular, will be invaluable to us as we design and develop the RFID-based network infrastructure. Nicholas Negroponte has been a source of guidance and encouragement from the company's founding."
ThingMagic's Mercury4 RFID reader platform was designed to read any RFID tag. It is certified by EPCglobal and MET Labs for all three Generation 2 RFID modes, including the complex dense reader mode. ThingMagic said that this architecture allows Mercury4 readers to be remotely updated for future Generation 2 variants and other new RFID standards, helping to ensure that customers will continue to have the latest RFID technology available.
Other investors in ThingMagic include The Tudor Group and affiliated funds, The Exxel Group, Inventec Appliances Corp., Morningside Technology Ventures Ltd., and Top Line Capital LLC. The company was founded in 2000 and is based in Cambridge, Mass.
Additional Articles of Interest
— RFID technology has the potential to change the way supply chains are managed, but in order to be effective businesses need to take a holistic look at the deployment. Read more in the SDCExec.com article "Time for RFID: Applying RFID in the Supply Chain."
— For a contrary view of the future of the RFID market, see the article "The O'RFID Factor: A 'No Spin' Look at Where Radio Frequency Identification Is Headed," in the October/November 2004 issue of Supply & Demand Chain Executive.
— For more information on trends relating to radio frequency identification (RFID), follow this link for an extensive listing of SDCExec.com articles, featuring the latest research findings on the RFID, including adoption, return on investment and barriers to implementation.
- More articles about ThingMagic.
