Awarepoint acquires $13.3m

US-based Awarepoint has raised $13.3 million in a Series D round of financing from a trio of private equity investors, reports Xconomy.

The investors are betting hospitals will continue to invest in RFID systems to track assets and limit spending on medical equipment.

Awarepoint provides software and hardware for real-time location systems in hospitals, factories, and other commercial settings. The company says its fourth round of venture financing will help it to meet demand both in the US and abroad for its systems.

Bartronics India is contemplating getting listed in the US as soon as the market situation becomes a little more conducive, says Business Standard.

The automatic identification and data capture solutions provider had earlier thought of taking its US subsidiary, Bartronics America, public, and listing it on the US bourses. However, with the markets unlikely to recover in the near-term, it is now zeroing in on the parent company for the purpose.

Bartronics, which earlier announced plans to acquire a European company engaged in RFID technology and smartcard solutions for approximately $4.9 million, has put on hold its plans.

The Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE) has called on the US government to halt its use of RFID machinery at border crossings until the safety of the new system can be better understood, states The Register.

This call by the ACTE follows similar requests by a number of civil liberties and computer researchers. They warn that use of the new long-range RFID scanners could jeopardise the privacy and security of people who pass through US borders.

Researchers with RSA Laboratories and the University of Washington published a paper exposing several risks posed by RFID systems used in US passport cards and drivers licences issued by several states. They found the documents were susceptible to cloning, a vulnerability that could allow attackers to assume the identity of others.