PowerID Ltd., the world leader in battery-assisted passive (BAP) radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, today announced that it has successfully raised $12 million in a B round venture capital funding. US-based Partech International led the round, which included existing shareholders Amadeus Capital Partners, Apax Partners, Clal Industries and Investments, and Infinity Venture Capital. This is PowerID’s first fundraising as an independent company following its spin-out from thin-battery company PowerPaper earlier this year.
PowerID’s BAP RFID labels use a small amount of power from a thin, flexible, and environmentally friendly battery to increase the read-range of its RFID systems far beyond that of traditional ‘passive’ (non-powered) systems, but at a fraction of the cost of ‘active’ RFID tags (which use large, often expensive battery packs). PowerID’s patented batteries, based on technology developed by PowerPaper, need no casing, are environment-friendly (they contain no mercury, lead or other heavy metals) and can be printed directly onto polymer film substrates.
Because BAP RFID provides low-cost, high-reliability asset tracking in challenging environments, the BAP segment is forecast to emerge as a growth area in the $5 billion global RFID market. PowerID has successfully deployed its solutions in a number of vertical industry segments, including distribution and logistics, industrial paper, and aerospace.
Commenting on the new financing, Amadeus Partner Barak Maoz, said: “When we led the D round investment in Power Paper, we could already see that the low-cost and environmentally-friendly aspects of PowerPaper’s printable battery had the potential to create a whole new segment in the RFID market. With the successful spin-out and financing of PowerID, that commercial potential can now be fully realised.”
“PowerID is uniquely positioned to become the market leader wherever reliable RFID solutions are needed,” said Ami Amir, partner at Partech International. “The company has demonstrated success in tracking goods in environments that challenge passive RFID, and we are delighted to lead this round of financing. We are confident that PowerID will address the need for reliable RFID across focused vertical segments and that it will become a leader in the emerging RFID sensor field.”
“We are proud to have such a strong syndicate of investors in this first round of financing since PowerID became independent,” said Erez Kahani, CEO of PowerID. “Over the last year, we have shown that BAP addresses a large market need. In the future, we will continue to address this need while expanding into new opportunities with our EPC-compliant BAP product line and sensor labels.”