Nokia Leads New Round Of Investment In INSIDE Contactless

INSIDE Contactless has announced a new round of investment led by Nokia Growth Partners, the global private equity and venture capital management arm of Nokia.

This new investment round of €25m ($38m), will allow the company to accelerate its international presence and broaden its product portfolio. “This major milestone caps a brilliant 2007 year for INSIDE,” reads a company statement. “This year it saw the successful launch of our new MicroRead NFC platform and the delivery of 35m MicroPass intelligent payment platforms (MPW 109) for the US contactless payments market.”

“This is more than a financial investment, this is about a strategic partnership with key players who are committed to building and driving the NFC eco-system,” says Rémy de Tonnac, CEO of INSIDE Contactless. “Three years ago a similar strategic investment was made with Visa which brought the company to a leading position in the field of Contactless payment. We hope that this new development for INSIDE will lead to a similar success in the NFC market.”

Nokia Growth Partners' participation in the round is a strong vote of confidence both in the NFC marketplace and in INSIDE Contactless' differentiated technology. Nokia Growth Partners is well positioned to see the emergence of contactless and NFC through its ties to Nokia and its previous investment in Vivotech.