Qualcomm and Verizon Wireless have finally given a name to their joint venture three weeks after its formation.
The joint venture was formed to target expanding vertical markets in the machine-to-machine (M2M) space, such as healthcare, utilities and consumer electronics. To that end, the newly formed company was named after Chicago-based M2M pioneer nPhase.
The original nPhase launched in 2003 as a startup focused on providing M2M communications solutions for OEM clients. The company was acquired by Qualcomm in 2006 and renamed Qualcomm Global Smart Services.
The new nPhase will be led by its original founder and CEO, Steve Pazol, who will become the company’s president. Pazol has been with the company through its acquisition by Qualcomm, and most recently served as vice president and general manager of Qualcomm Global Smart Services.
The joint venture’s board of directors includes executive heavyweights Len Lauer, Qualcomm’s COO, and Tony Lewis, vice president of Open Development at Verizon Wireless.
In a July interview with Wireless Week on the day the joint venture was announced, Lewis referred to the deal as the “ultimate partnership for M2M” and said it “bodes well for all the verticals that are in the M2M space.”
The companies have declined to provide financial information about the deal but Qualcomm and Verizon Wireless both hold a 50 percent stake in the joint venture.
The joint venture was announced at Qualcomm’s Smart Services Leadership Summit on July 28.