What WaveOn Coherent Technologies Incorporated does

WaveOn Coherent Technologies Incorporated (operating as WaveOn; legal entity VerifiR Inc., a California corporation) is an enterprise SaaS company founded in 2016 and headquartered in San Diego. It builds a cloud platform — branded 'Product AI' or 'Point-of-Product AI' — that uses NFC tags embedded in physical products to deliver conversational, multi-modal AI support to consumers via a single smartphone tap, eliminating the need for apps, QR codes, or paper manuals. Its proprietary SmartCarbon technology, granted as a patent, permits NFC module integration into carbon-fiber products such as bicycle frames during manufacturing.

The platform is modular, encompassing Lost & Found, Product Registration, Supply Chain Tracking, Warranty Management, and Digital Product Passport capabilities, with a more recent Tariff Optimization offering that restructures import valuations to exclude post-importation digital services under CBP ruling HQ H239671 (2013). Architecture relies on standard infrastructure providers — OpenAI for AI inference, Pinecone for the vector database, and AWS for storage and compute — while WaveOn contributes the NFC hardware integration, brand-side experience design, and accumulated per-product knowledge bases.

WaveOn sells to consumer product manufacturers through a consultative, sales-led enterprise motion with channel leverage from OEM partners such as YKK (Touchlink fastener network) and Malta Dynamics (safety helmets). Pricing is custom and quote-based, combining annual subscriptions for the cloud platform, per-scan usage-based engagement revenue, and one-time professional services for integration. Named enterprise customers span cycling (BMC), outdoor/backpacks (Deuter, Weston, Kemper, DPS), luggage (Eagle Creek, ENVE), surf (Firewire), cycle lighting (NiteRider), safety/PPE (Malta Dynamics), and automotive (SEMA presence). Marketing runs through content, SEO, trade shows (ISPO, SEMA), PR, case studies, and CEO-led demos; the company has won the 2019 ISPO Digital Award (with Deuter) and the 2020 Outside Magazine Gear of the Year (with Eagle Creek).

Name

WaveOn Coherent Technologies Incorporated

Legal name

VerifiR Inc.

Website

https://waveon.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Short description

WaveOn (VerifiR Inc.) is a San Diego–based SaaS company founded in 2016 that turns physical products into AI-powered conversational portals via NFC taps, serving consumer product brands across cycling, outdoor, luggage, safety, and automotive verticals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Connected Product AI Platform

NAICS

Other Communications Equipment Manufacturing (334290), Other Communications Equipment Manufacturing (33429)

SIC

Computer Communications Equipment (3576), Electronic Components & Accessories (3670)

akta.pro primary industry

On-Device/Edge Foundation Models (Mobile/Embedded LLMs) (HDAAACAN)

akta.pro secondary industry

Wireless Interface Adapters (Wi‑Fi/Bluetooth/Cellular Modems) (HDAFAEAJ)

Keywords

• NFC product authentication
• Connected product AI platform
• Smart packaging solutions
• Digital product passport
• Post-purchase engagement software

Headquarters

HQ city

San Diego

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. NFC Module Hardware + Software Platform: WaveOn provides both NFC hardware modules (embedded during product manufacturing) and the cloud-based software/data management platform. Revenue is generated from brand partners who pay for the integrated hardware module and the ongoing software subscription for the digital experience layer.
2. Per-Scan/Usage-Based Engagement: Brands pay based on consumer engagement levels — product registrations, support chats, lost-and-found activations, and data insights. This creates usage-based revenue aligned with consumer adoption of the digital experience.
3. Professional Services: WaveOn provides implementation services including NFC module integration design, cloud platform configuration, brand experience creation, and supply chain tracking setup. These are one-time project fees for brand onboarding.
4. Tariff Optimization Consulting: WaveOn offers tariff optimization services to help brands structure compliant licensing agreements for digital content, separating physical and digital product value to reduce import duty costs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

WaveOn sells a cloud-based AI platform that pairs customizable NFC hardware modules (including patented carbon-fiber integration) with multi-modal conversational AI to let any physical product be activated by a smartphone tap — no app, no manual required. The offering is sold to enterprise consumer-product brands (cycling, outdoor gear, luggage, safety equipment, automotive accessories) and includes add-on modules for lost-and-found, product registration, warranty management, supply chain tracking, digital product passports, and tariff optimization.

Product overview

WaveOn is a SaaS platform built around its core Product AI platform, which turns physical products into 24/7 interactive digital experiences accessed via NFC smartphone taps. The platform's central technology is its multi-modal AI supporting text, image, and audio interactions. Key product modules include the NFC Product Activation infrastructure, SmartCarbon (patented carbon fiber NFC integration), Lost & Found, Tariff Optimization, Product Registration, Supply Chain Tracking, Warranty Management, and Digital Product Passports. The platform is designed for brands in cycling, outdoor gear, luggage, safety equipment, and appliance industries, enabling product authentication, customer engagement, upselling, and operational insights without requiring apps or manuals.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SmartCarbon: A patented carbon fiber NFC integration technology that can be embedded into carbon fiber products, enabling product authentication, tracking, and consumer engagement.

Products and services

• WaveOn Product AI Platform Cloud-based AI platform that turns physical products into 24/7 conversational portals via NFC taps, providing product information, support, and personalized upsell chats. Sold to enterprise consumer-product brands across cycling, outdoor, luggage, safety, and automotive verticals.
• NFC Product Activation Hardware-enabled NFC tap service that connects consumers to product AI agents without requiring an app or manual. Designed for brand manufacturers embedding NFC modules during production.
• SmartCarbon Patented carbon-fiber NFC module integration technology enabling embedded NFC chips in carbon fiber products for authentication, tracking, and consumer engagement. Used in BMC Masterpiece framesets and Deuter AViANT backpacks.
• Tariff Optimization Service that helps importers and brands separate physical product value from digital experience value to reduce dutiable import value through compliant post-import digital activation.
• Lost & Found NFC-activated lost-and-found feature that lets owners mark items lost and finders contact owners by email when they tap the embedded NFC tag, with automatic reset on return.
• Supply Chain Tracking NFC-based product tracking from factory through distribution that supports inventory management, authentication, and reduction of product diversion and grey-market imports.
• Digital Product Passports Digital product passport solution that stores authentication data, manufacturing/QA data, ownership records, and compliance documentation accessible via NFC tap.

Quantifiable outcome

• 5X ROI for brand partners through combined effects of increased sales, reduced costs, and supply chain improvements
• +4 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

AI capability8 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core, regulatory and standards.

• Malta DynamicsflagshipTechnology or Integration · 11 June 2023WaveOn partnered with Malta Dynamics to integrate NFC technology into the ANSI Type 2 APEX Safety Helmet. The helmet sets a new industry standard by combining head protection with WaveOn's contactless NFC connectivity. Workers tap their smartphone on the helmet to access safety training records, compliance documentation, and SiteDocs integration. This represents WaveOn's expansion into workplace safety and industrial PPE.
• YKK CorporationcoreTechnology or Integration · 29 March 2022WaveOn joined YKK's Touchlink fastener software partner network. YKK's Touchlink NFC-enabled zipper pulls provide the hardware access point for WaveOn's software experiences. WaveOn promotes YKK hardware to brand customers as a digital connectivity option that requires no product design changes. Apparel brands using YKK Touchlink fasteners can activate WaveOn consumer experiences with a smartphone tap. YKK and WaveOn jointly enable new circular business models including product resale and rental programs.
• US Customs and Border Protection (CBP)regulatoryOthersWaveOn's tariff optimization methodology aligns with CBP ruling HQ H239671 (2013), which clarified that digital software upgrades activated post-importation are non-dutiable. WaveOn leverages this precedent to help brands structure compliant licensing agreements that separate physical product value from digital experience value.
• OpenAIcoreTechnology or IntegrationOpenAI provides AI functionalities for WaveOn's conversational AI platform. WaveOn's multi-modal AI (text, images, audio) uses OpenAI as the core AI engine for product knowledge responses and customer engagement interactions. Referenced in WaveOn's privacy policy under infrastructure components.
• PineconecoreTechnology or IntegrationPinecone provides vector database infrastructure for WaveOn's AI platform. Enables efficient storage and retrieval of product knowledge embeddings for WaveOn's conversational AI. Referenced in WaveOn's privacy policy under infrastructure components.
• Amazon Web Services (AWS)coreTechnology or IntegrationAWS provides cloud data storage and processing infrastructure for WaveOn's platform. WaveOn's cloud-based web experiences, data management platform, and consumer engagement features run on AWS infrastructure. Referenced in WaveOn's privacy policy.
• NFC ForumstandardsOthersWaveOn is supported by NFC Forum's technology standards ecosystem. NFC Release 15 (2025) introduces a fourfold range improvement for NFC, which will benefit WaveOn's product interactions by enabling more reliable taps with less precision required. WaveOn is positioned to integrate NFC 15 capabilities as devices become certified.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Identiv: Identiv is a global leader in RFID and NFC tag and inlay solutions, with products spanning supply chain, brand authentication, and IoT applications. It is a comparable technology provider in the NFC hardware and authentication space WaveOn serves.
• Blue Bite: Blue Bite is a mobile engagement platform that connects physical products and packaging to digital experiences via NFC and QR codes. It is the closest direct competitor to WaveOn, targeting consumer brands with similar product authentication and engagement use cases.
• EVRYTHNG (Smart Products Platform): EVRYTHNG operates a connected products cloud platform that turns physical items into trackable digital assets for brands, focused on authentication, supply chain traceability, and consumer engagement. It overlaps directly with WaveOn's product-to-digital platform approach.
• Scanbuy: Scanbuy provides QR code and NFC mobile engagement solutions for brands and retailers, including product authentication, consumer engagement, and supply chain visibility. It competes directly with WaveOn in the consumer-brand NFC engagement layer.

Broad incumbents

• Klaviyo: Klaviyo is a leading customer engagement and marketing automation platform focused on consumer brands. It operates broadly in the brand-customer engagement layer where WaveOn's Point-of-Product AI interaction data could feed or compete with.
• Avery Dennison: Avery Dennison is a major global manufacturer of NFC/RFID tags (including via Smartrac) and labeling solutions used across retail, apparel, and supply chains. It operates at much larger scale than WaveOn and is both a potential partner and an incumbent threat.
• Particle: Particle is an IoT platform providing hardware modules, connectivity, and cloud services for connected products. It is comparable to WaveOn's broader platform ambitions, though more focused on Bluetooth/cellular IoT than NFC-triggered conversational experiences.
• Yotpo: Yotpo is a B2B SaaS platform serving consumer brands with reviews, loyalty, SMS marketing, and user-generated content. It addresses adjacent brand-to-consumer engagement workflows where WaveOn's NFC-triggered AI chat could plug in.
• Particle (Samsara for assets): Samsara provides IoT sensors and a cloud platform for physical asset tracking and operational visibility across industrial customers. While focused on industrial/enterprise operations, its connected-asset platform overlaps with WaveOn's supply chain tracking and product authentication capabilities.

Emerging players

• Estimote: Estimote builds Bluetooth beacon and proximity-based hardware and software for retail and physical-world engagement. It intersects with WaveOn where brands explore NFC/Bluetooth alternatives for connecting physical products to digital experiences.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 WaveOn Coherent Technologies Incorporated