INSIDE Secure Files for IPO

NFC chip maker INSIDE Secure has filed for an IPO valued in the $115 to $144 million range. The market for NFC chipsets has finally heated up and INSIDE Secure (formerly INSIDE Contactless) is building its capacity to take advantage of that market’s growth. While NFC will be important for mobile wallet applications, its uses extend into many other areas. Of particular long term interest is device and user authentication, two areas of interest to INSIDE.

The company is said to be number two in the market for NFC chips behind NXP Semiconductor BV (Eindhoven, The Netherlands), which recently boasted that it was the chip vendor behind Google’s announcement of mobile payment services on the Android mobile phone platform.

However, Inside Secure is likely to be also profiting from interest in NFC chips. Inside Secure has a contract to supply Research in Motion with 20 million to 25 million NFC chips for BlackBerry’s that will support near field communications, according to an NFC Times report. Inside Secure is trying to fight back against early design wins for NXP with Samsung and Nokia, the report said. This RIM order is part of a backlog worth $22 million at the end of 1Q11, according to another NFC Times report.

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