Founded in 1989, and based in Atlanta, Georgia, NeoMedia currently has 30 active patents spanning 13 countries, with 29 additional patents pending.
In 2006, NeoMedia acquired Gavitec AG – mobile digit, a leading provider of technology for code reading systems and software for mobile communications applications. Gavitec AG, based in Germany, was founded in 1997. The company first concentrated its business on the industrial sector and produced a wide range of machine vision products for direct part mark reading. Gavitec's scanners were primarily designed for the leading manufacturers in the automotive, electronics, and healthcare industries.
Later, Gavitec began to apply its expertise and experience to new fields of endeavour, and developed the vision of both reading codes on mobile phone displays as well as enabling the mobile phones themselves to read codes using its built-in camera.
Gavitec has been able to win and maintain a quality-conscious customer base that includes some of the leading manufacturing companies throughout Europe, Asia and USA, such as Philips, Volkswagen, DaimlerChrysler, BMW and Bosch.
In 2007, Gavitec, NeoMedia, Publicis Groupe and Hewlett Packard Laboratories formed the MC2 (Mobile Code Consortium) to create a new mobile marketing ecosystem based around camera phones and 2D barcodes. In addition to their founders, the MC2 members include now Deutsche Telekom, KPN, Nokia, Qualcomm and Telefonica O2 Europe. Together, they created initiatives that led to activities in the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) and the GSM Association (GSMA), two of the global mobile phone industry’s representative bodies, to accelerate mass adoption of mobile codes.
In early 2009, Gavitec AG – mobile digit became the European headquarters for NeoMedia and is now named NeoMedia Europe AG. Its main function is the front-end development for all NeoMedia products as well as being the centre for operational activities.