2D Barcode Technology Provider Inspiry Receives Fund from Gobi

Written by Luyi Chen on February 12, 2007
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Inspiry BobiBeijing based 2D barcode technology and application company Inspiry has announced Series A funding from Shanghai based Gobi. The amount of the investment hasn’t been disclosed. More information can be found in this press release, tips via Pacific Epoch.

Inspiry is established in July, 2002. It’s recently joined by venture capital means the market has reached the agreement that 2D barcode era is coming. No wonder this is the future, the only question is how far from here.

There’re basically two kinds of 2D barcode application. One is to send 2D barcode images to users’ mobile phone, which can be recognized by some devices later. A sample is online e-ticket booking service. The other application is to store a link in barcode which will direct user to an online resource with more information. Sample application include merchandise tag and mobile web browsing. Panghulu is an RSS reader that can recognize 2D barcode and makes it easy to subscribe to blogs.

The idea of 2D barcode has been there for years. It only recently got the chance to reach the masses due to popularity of mobile phone. While the technology is not designed for mobile phone in the beginning, there’re two challenges for these technologies to take off. One is performance, the other is to adapt to the resolution of mobile phone’s screen and camera.

Besides the technology issue, there’re other important factors for any players in this field. In this case, we think two points are significant. The first, Inspiry has partnered with China Mobile, which has started testing 2D barcode related service from Sept. 2006. The second, Inspiry has been involved in the development of a 2D barcode national standard, Hanxing Code. Here’s a page with more information about Hanxing Code. Probably these two points are even more important in venture capital’s mind than the technology itself.

5 Responses to “2D Barcode Technology Provider Inspiry Receives Fund from Gobi”

  1. Brian Tiong on February 14th, 2007 10:43 am

    Have a look at these 3D codes that have just launched in Singapore…

    http://b-side.com.sg/blog/2007/02/colorcodes_launch_in_singapore.html

  2. Luyi Chen on February 14th, 2007 11:00 am

    Very interesting! The third dimension is color.

  3. Young on February 14th, 2007 7:01 pm

    Any difference with Gmedia?

    Inspiry is said to be the only partner of China Mobile and what about Gmedia?

  4. Luyi Chen on February 14th, 2007 9:32 pm

    I have sent an inquiry mail to Gmedia.

  5. Shen on March 5th, 2007 3:25 pm

    China Mobile will use DM code for online service which is partnered with Gmedia, and QR code for offline use (like business card) partnered with Inspiry. Different codes for different services.

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