Gemalto, a leader in digital security that has its North American headquarters in Austin, is assisting a startup team comprised of Cockrell School of Engineering students.
Gemalto will provide the team with near-field communication (NFC) tags and software developer suites to further test and develop a platform for its startup project titled Lynxin. Their platform aims to connect corporations to consumers by designing customized promotions.
"Gemalto is a global leader with many NFC deployments under its belt," said Bob Metcalfe, professor of innovation at the Cockrell School. "Gemalto's partnering with this startup team of Cockrell School of Engineering students is a great example of the Austin innovation ecology in action. How fortunate we are to have the North American headquarters of this billion-dollar security company in our midst and with such a great attitude toward innovation."
NFC is a wireless technology that enables communication over short distances between a mobile device and a reader. According to Gemalto, people may use NFC for many convenient purposes including paying at restaurants, accessing public transport and parking, accessing buildings and other entryways and even reading smart posters to engage in advertising and couponing specials.
"At Gemalto we embrace the opportunities to support up-and-coming entrepreneurs in the technology space, especially right here in our own backyard," said Paul Beverly, president of Gemalto North America. "Technology moves at a break-neck pace, as these selected young engineers are certainly learning. Any head start we can give them as they move the industry forward benefits us all."
