NeWave Sensor Solutions

What NeWave Sensor Solutions does

NeWave Sensor Solutions (DBA NeWave RFID), founded in 2010 as newave sensorSolutions LLC and headquartered in Plain City (Columbus), Ohio, develops and licenses item-level RFID technology centered on its patented Wave® antenna, which was designed at Ohio State University's ElectroScience Laboratory to emit five overlapping beams across multiple polarizations, achieving 99%+ tag read rates regardless of tag orientation. The company's product portfolio comprises four core offerings built on this antenna platform: the wave® antenna itself sold in rugged and radiator form factors; plug&play Portals™ used at dock doors, entries, and choke points; smartShelf™, a no-tags-required retail shelf inventory monitoring system with edge computing that transmits compressed summary data to customer servers; and the smartInventory Management System (SIMS), a no-tags-required solution for controlling high-volume, low-cost supplies via modular bins with automatic restock triggers.

NeWave operates an asset-light, partner-led go-to-market model. Wistron NeWeb Corporation (WNC) of Taiwan is the exclusive global manufacturer of Wave antennas, a significant investor with board representation, and co-owner of RFID IP. Smart Label Solutions (SLS) is the exclusive North American portal distribution partner and has jointly delivered nearly 25,000 portal installations. NeWave offers both capital purchase and OpEx/SaaS procurement options for smartShelf, with disclosed per-store investment near $9,500 for a 16-foot section and POC results showing 7-8 month payback periods and IRR above 200%. Customer verticals include retail (with documented POCs in tobacco and convenience retail), healthcare and medical supply, transportation and logistics, industrial laundry, and hospitality and events. The company is privately held with 11-50 employees, 9 patents, and operates from its NeWave Innovation Center in Plain City. Founder, CTO, and Chairman Dr. Walter "Den" Burnside passed away on April 18, 2022, an event that the company's public disclosures have not addressed with a named successor.

Name

NeWave Sensor Solutions

Legal name

newave sensorSolutions LLC

Website

https://newaverfid.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

NeWave Sensor Solutions develops patented item-level RFID technology anchored by its Wave® antenna, delivering smartShelf, SIMS, and plug&play portal solutions to retail, healthcare, logistics, and laundry customers through WNC and SLS distribution partnerships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

RFID Hardware and Item-Level Tracking Systems

NAICS

Navigational, Measuring, Electromedical, and Control Instruments Manufacturing (3345), Communications Equipment Manufacturing (3342), Search, Detection, Navigation, Guidance, Aeronautical, and Nautical System and Instrument Manufacturing (334511)

SIC

Industrial Instruments For Measurement, Display, And Control (3823), Instruments For Meas & Testing Of Electricity & Elec Signals (3825)

akta.pro primary industry

RF, Antennas & Wireless Components Retail (CRACAKAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

RF Switches, Tuners & Antenna Tuning ICs (HDAHAMAD), Sensors & Modules (IMU, GPS, Camera, RF) Retail (CRACAKAC)

Keywords

• RFID antennas
• Item-level tracking
• Inventory management
• Supply chain visibility
• Retail RFID solutions

Headquarters

HQ city

Plain City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Hardware Sales - Wave Antennas: Sale of proprietary Wave antennas and radiators to partners and end customers. Antennas are manufactured exclusively by Wistron NeWeb Corporation (WNC). Product available in various form factors including protective containers and embedded modules.
2. Smart Shelf and SIMS Solutions: Complete RFID inventory management systems sold as integrated hardware/software solutions. Customers can select OpEx or SaaS procurement models. Systems include readers, antennas, and associated middleware/software.
3. Plug&Play Portal Systems: Pre-configured portal solutions using Wave antennas embedded in composite materials, sold through SLS as exclusive North American partner. Nearly 25,000 portals sold to date for dock doors, entries, exits, and surround applications.
4. Professional Services and Integration: Solution design knowhow, installation support, and integration services provided through partner network. SLS provides software technical knowhow to integrate solutions with customer ERP systems.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

NeWave Sensor Solutions designs, develops, and commercializes patented RFID antenna technology—anchored by its Wave® antenna with five-beam distributed radiation—and integrates it into item-level inventory and asset-tracking solutions for retail, healthcare, logistics, and industrial laundry customers. The company sells hardware (antennas, rugged protective containers, plug&play portals), complete RFID systems (smartShelf, SIMS), and associated software/services, channeled through exclusive partner agreements in North America and globally.

Product overview

NeWave Sensor Solutions offers a portfolio of RFID solutions anchored by its patented wave® antenna technology — the first and only antenna specifically designed for item-level RFID. The product lineup includes the wave® Antenna (core platform), plug&play Portals™ (portal solutions using wave technology for dock doors and choke points), smartShelf™ (a 'No Tags Required' retail shelf inventory monitoring system), and SIMS (Smart Inventory Management System for supply inventory control). These products share the common wave antenna technology that delivers 99%+ tag read accuracy through five-beam, multi-polarization radiation patterns, and include 'No Tags Required' solutions that eliminate item tagging costs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• wave® Antenna: Patented item-level RFID antenna that generates five beams with multiple polarizations for 99%+ tag read rates.
• plug&play Portals™
• smartShelf™
• smartInventory Management System (SIMS)™

Products and services

• wave® Antenna The first and only antenna specifically designed for item-level RFID. Generates five beams with multiple polarizations to uniformly illuminate an optimal zone and achieve 99%+ tag read rates regardless of tag orientation. Compatible with any Gen 2 RFID reader.
• plug&play Portals™ RFID portal solutions using Wave antenna technology embedded in composite materials, providing plug-and-play installation for dock doors, exits, entries, and choke points. Delivers 99%+ tag read rates with no on-site adjustment required.
• smartShelf™ A 'No Tags Required' RFID solution that monitors retail shelf inventory in real time using Wave antenna technology with edge computing. Reduces out-of-stocks by over 70% and provides planogram compliance, theft protection, and automatic restocking alerts.
• Smart Inventory Management System (SIMS)™ A patented 'No Tags Required' solution for controlling inventory of high volume, low cost essential supplies using modular bins with primary and safety stock compartments. Automatically triggers restock orders when primary inventory is consumed.

Quantifiable outcome

• 99+% item-level tag read rate vs. patch antenna's 75% in head-to-head hotel laundry test
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered strategic, core and minor.

• Smart Label Solutions (SLS) and WNC - APAC PartnershipstrategicStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019三方合作关系 development to serve Asia Pacific RFID market. Announcement made August 1, 2019. Combines SLS's North American portal expertise with WNC's Asian manufacturing and market presence.
• Smart Label Solutions (SLS)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2014Exclusive North American Portal Partner. Combined to complete nearly 25,000 dock door portal installations for industry-leading companies. SLS provides software technical knowhow to integrate solutions with customer ERP systems. Partnership of over 7 years. SLS loves to work directly with partners to ensure optimal tag read performance.
• Wistron NeWeb Corporation (WNC)coreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2010Exclusive global manufacturer for Wave antennas and nobel reader. Significant investor in Newave with board representation. Shares commercialization rights for all RFID intellectual property. Well-positioned to commercialize Wave technology in Asia and with global client base. One of world's largest, highest quality antenna manufacturers with strong R&D and high-volume production capabilities.
• The Ohio State University ElectroScience Laboratory (ESL)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2010World-class RF research laboratory where Wave antenna was developed under direction of Newave CTO Dr. Dennis Burnside (former ESL Director). One of largest radio frequency university-based research laboratories in world. Original research completed for U.S. Department of Defense including Stealth systems. Dr. Robert Burkholder (co-inventor of Wave antenna) continues as Emeritus Research Professor at ESL.
• Sato AmericaminorGTM or Marketing PartnerStrategic enterprise account partnership. Testimonial from Ty Boland, Strategic Enterprise Account Manager at Sato America, praising NeWave's portfolio of exceptional smart technology solutions and support team.
• SmartLinenminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartnership for Wave antenna integration into RFID laundry linen tracking systems. SmartLinen President William Serbin states Wave antenna brings greater accountability for reading multiple linen assets wet and dry.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Impinj: Leading UHF RFID platform provider offering RFID readers, tags, and antennas for item-level identification. Most direct competitor to NeWave's Wave antenna technology and the dominant player in the UHF RFID market across retail, logistics, and asset tracking.
• Alien Technology: RFID tag and reader manufacturer with comparable offerings in UHF RFID solutions for item-level tracking. Competes with NeWave in the same retail, logistics, and industrial verticals with a similar channel-driven go-to-market model.

Emerging players

• Mojix: Item-level RFID solutions provider focused on retail and supply chain visibility with software-centric platform approach. An emerging player that overlaps with NeWave's smartShelf and SIMS in retail and healthcare supply tracking, with comparable target customer profile.
• Omni-ID: Industrial RFID tag and solutions provider with whom NeWave has a testimonial partnership. Targets similar industrial and asset tracking applications, with emphasis on specialty and harsh-environment RFID use cases.
• PervasID: UK-based RFID reader and antenna technology company specializing in item-level passive RFID for retail and healthcare. Directly comparable in addressing shelf-level RFID reading challenges, though smaller in scale and UK-focused versus NeWave's North American base.

Broad incumbents

• Zebra Technologies: Enterprise RFID hardware and software provider offering readers, antennas, printers, and mobile computing. A broad incumbent in retail and logistics RFID with much larger direct sales coverage than NeWave's partner-led model.
• Avery Dennison: Global leader in RFID inlays and smart labels serving retail, apparel, and supply chain. A broad incumbent offering integrated RFID label and tag solutions at massive scale, with deeper customer relationships and far larger R&D budget than NeWave.
• Checkpoint Systems: Retail-focused RFID and EAS solutions provider offering merchandise visibility, loss prevention, and inventory management. Competes in the same retail OOS and shelf-monitoring space as NeWave's smartShelf with broader solution portfolio.
• Honeywell: Large diversified industrial conglomerate with RFID reader and mobility solutions (acquired Intermec and Vocollect). Competes with NeWave in enterprise RFID and is a testimonial partner; offers broader portfolio but less specialization in item-level RFID antenna technology.
• Sensormatic Solutions (Johnson Controls): Retail loss prevention and RFID-based inventory intelligence provider serving large retailers. A broad incumbent with direct relationships at the same retail customers NeWave targets with smartShelf, and significantly more resources to capture shelf-monitoring RFPs.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/newave-sensor-solution

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about NeWave Sensor Solutions