September 18, 2003 – STMicroelectronics, Geneva, Switzerland, and Alien Technology Corp., Morgan Hill, CA, have agreed to jointly design, develop, and manufacture low-cost RFID technology, with STMicro serving as a second-source for Alien’s EPD Class 1 chips.
The companies, both members of industry consortium Auto-ID, aim to produce by 1Q04 an RFID chip costing less than a penny, compared with current RFID chips which can cost as much as $0.50.