Innovision and NXP in NFC Partnership

Innovision Research and Technology and NXP Semiconductors, the independent company founded by Philips, have announced a joint marketing and licensing agreement related to Near Field Communication (NFC) technology. The agreement builds on an established relationship between the two companies and is aimed at bringing both partners’ complementary NFC capabilities to other companies actively involved in the NFC value chain.
The deal brings together advanced Innovision IP and proven NXP expertise in firmware, software and secure elements. The two companies say they aim to win NFC integration deals into deep sub-micron based connectivity solutions. NXP’s endorsement and licensing of Innovision’s advanced NFC IP, known as Gem, is expected to expand Innovision’s addressable market to include NFC applications such as payments.
“As co-inventor of the NFC technology and a leader in secure elements, we are pleased to work with Innovision and its advanced IP for NFC,” says Chris Feige, General Manager, NFC at NXP Semiconductors. “With standardization in place, we expect a major push for the adoption of NFC this year, and we are fully prepared to meet the demand from handset manufacturers, operators and other stakeholders in the NFC industry.” 
The companies note that recent announcements related to SIM-based mobile handset NFC implementations have stimulated an encouraging response from operators and the GSMA, regarding their commitment to launching new NFC services in future.
Innovision Research & Technology develops semiconductor technologies, ICs, RF systems (HF/UHF) and complete end product applications for mass volume commercialization, and then licenses customers for its incorporation into their own products.
The company also designs and develops NFC/RFID IC solutions for the global mobile handset and consumer device sectors, including the advanced process Gem NFC IP. Products include Topaz, mandated by the NFC Forum as the NFC number one tag type format; Jewel for mass transit ticketing applications; and io, the world's smallest standards compatible Near-Field RFID reader.