Contact Information: Editorial Contacts: Jim Donaldson Impinj, Inc. 206-834-1091 Amy Kircos Intel Corporation 480-552-8803
Impinj Acquires Intel's UHF RFID Reader Chip Operation
Acquisition Expands Impinj Product Portfolio and Increases Customer Base
| Source: Impinj, Inc.
SEATTLE, WA and SANTA CLARA, CA--(Marketwire - July 10, 2008) - Leading UHF Gen 2 radio
frequency identification (RFID) solutions provider Impinj, Inc. today
announced the acquisition of Intel Corporation's RFID operation, a business
created by Intel's New Business Initiatives (NBI) incubator and which
developed the award-winning R1000 RFID reader chip. Financial terms of the
acquisition are not being disclosed.
The acquisition of Intel assets further enhances Impinj's position in the
RFID market by adding a proven, high-performance, highly integrated reader
radio chip to the Impinj family of UHF Gen 2 RFID products. For developers
of UHF RFID readers and reader-modules, the R1000 chip provides superior
levels of design flexibility, integrating onto a single chip 90 percent of
the components required for a reader radio. By delivering unprecedented
performance, integration and cost effectiveness to a worldwide customer
base, the R1000 chip enables all reader form factors -- fixed, mobile,
embedded and others -- in applications across numerous vertical markets,
including supply chain management, asset tracking, authentication and
access control.
"This acquisition is a huge step for Impinj, accelerating our drive to
deliver the highest performance, most cost effective RFID products
available from any vendor anywhere," said William T. Colleran, Ph.D.,
president and CEO of Impinj. "Adding the R1000 reader chip to Impinj's
market-leading portfolio of tag chips and fixed-reader products allows us
to deliver exceptional price-performance and enable a new category of
customers who are developing their own game-changing products based upon
Impinj technology."
"The UHF RFID market is a strong opportunity, and we believe this business
and its assets are an optimal fit for Impinj," said Rich Wykoff, general
manager of Intel's NBI incubator. "Intel's NBI incubator program is
practiced at establishing new businesses in emerging markets, and Impinj's
acquisition of the RFID Operation demonstrates the incubator's ability to
create valued businesses in new technology areas."
"The demand for a highly integrated technology like the R1000 reader chip
is growing everyday," said Mike Liard at ABI Research. "The choice for
Intel -- the world's largest and most recognized chip maker -- to work with
Impinj is a clear indication of Impinj's role as a frontrunner in the RFID
industry."
About Impinj, Inc.
Impinj, Inc. is the world's leading technical innovator in developing UHF
Gen 2 RFID solutions for both item-level and supply-chain tagging. Impinj
draws on its technical expertise and industry partnerships to deliver a
wide range of products and solutions comprising high-performance tag chips,
readers, reader chips, software, antennas, and systems integration. Impinj
products provide unprecedented performance, integration and cost
effectiveness to a global customer base, in applications across numerous
vertical markets, including inventory management, asset tracking,
authentication and serialization. For more information, visit
www.impinj.com.
Impinj, Speedway, GrandPrix, and Monza are either registered trademarks or
trademarks of Impinj, Inc.
About Intel
Intel (NASDAQ : INTC ), the world leader in silicon innovation, develops
technologies, products and initiatives to continually advance how people
work and live. Additional information about Intel is available at
www.intel.com/pressroom and http://blogs.intel.com.
Intel is a trademark of Intel Corporation in the United States and other
countries.
*Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.