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A designer of NFC chip technology and maker of NFC tags, Innovision has a relatively low profile in the NFC industry. But that could change in a couple of years if the company’s vision pays off.

That vision is that millions of chips in mobile phones supporting Bluetooth, WiFi, and other short-range wireless technologies will also pack Innovision's NFC intellectual property. The company believes handset makers introducing (higher-end) NFC models after 2012 or 2013 will no longer put standalone NFC chips inside their devices but will opt instead for “combo chips” supporting the various wireless technologies. That would reduce the cost of embedding an NFC modem in a handset to well below 50 U.S. cents, less than a third or a quarter of what it would cost for a standalone chip, according to CEO David Wollen.

It remains to be seen whether handset makers will order the combo chips with NFC onboard, though the trend is for combining wireless technologies into the same chip, at least in higher-end phones. And other companies would have NFC IP to license, too.

But Wollen said that five of the top 10 to 20 makers of wireless chips for phones have signed development and licensing agreements with Innovision. He declined to name the chip makers, citing confidentiality clauses. The company in April 2010 announced it had signed another deal with a global semiconductor supplier, which it predicted would yield $2 million in development and licensing revenue in the first year and $10 million over several years. Examples of the chipset companies that might want Innovision IP are Texas Instruments, Broadcom, and Qualcomm, though TI is working on its own NFC technology for a standalone chip that may later go into its wireless chipsets. Early 2009, Inside Contactless, a maker of standalone NFC chips, announced a deal to supply NFC technology to Qualcomm for reference designs of 3G chips for phones.

NXP Semiconductors in 2009 licensed Innovision IP to work with its NFC chips and related software and secure elements.

Innovision also makes tags that its NFC chips in phones or other devices can read. The tags store small amounts of data and code and could enable users, for example, to tap smart posters to download coupons, tickets, or other content or automatically open Bluetooth or WiFi connections.

Innovision’s Topaz tag is one of four tag types standardized by the NFC Forum, of which Innovision is a sponsor member and has a set on the board. Under the standard, Innovision NFC technology in devices would presumably be able to read tags from other manufacturers, as well.

The company believes tags could bring in even more revenue than royalties from millions of NFC phones containing its IP. But the royalty and tag revenue depends on whether handset makers do, indeed, roll out NFC widely in their devices.

Until then, Innovision will have to make due with limited development and licensing revenue from chipmakers incorporating its IP, as well as sales of tags and chip technology for low-cost transit tickets. Losses are also likely to continue until NFC takes off.

The promise of that happening, however, helped Innovision raise £5.2 million (US$8.5 million) in a share offering in July 2009.