Huey,
Thanks for the article on Fleet, Compaq, & Smart Cards.
Two great chasm crossers are mentioned.
One is a Gilles Lisimaque a Gemplus founder who has lived in the States since (I believe) 1989, and the other is Patrick Gauthier, formerly with Schlumberger, and now with Visa in Foster City, CA.
Both have found the chasm VERY WIDE for smart cards in the US, and the reason is (as noted in the article) is lack of infastructure (smart card readers and controlling software and middleware at point of sale, in mobile phones, in laptop or desktop computers) which the article adresses.
The article deals with Fleet Credit Card Services which issued the first Visa smart card in the States, but it should be noted that both Providian (Bay area) and First USA of DE, are also issuing Visa smart cards, and American Express's pioneering 'Blue' card is doing well.
Built in readers in keyboards like those from Compaq and Cherry for desktops and the built in readers in laptops from Compaq, IBM, and Dell, start to adreess the infastructure issues.
The chasm crossing has paid off handsomely for Gilles Lisimaque. I notice in the Gemplus prospectus that Gilles sold 700,000 shares of GEMP at IPO (around $10 per share) and he retains 5,738,500 shares (x todays $6.75 per share).
- Eric - |
