RFID tag maker Impinj soars on Wall Street as Amazon’s $13.7B deal to buy Whole Foods opens new opportunities

Amazon’s deal to acquire Whole Foods for $13.7 billion is sending far-reaching ripples across Wall Street, well beyond the grocery industry, affecting other Seattle tech companies. Impinj, a Seattle-based maker of radio frequency identification (RFID) tags that connect items to the internet, has seen its stock rise on news of the deal. Why does a huge Amazon retail deal have an impact on Impinj? It starts with a connection between the two companies. Amazon is a member of RAIN RFID, an alliance co-founded by Impinj in 2014 to spread awareness of RFID technology, which can be used to better keep track of inventory in retail environments.