Contactless Tech Market Report 2025: Key Insights & Innovations

The Contactless Tech Market Report highlights the rapid growth of contactless technologies across industries, driven by increased demand for safer, more efficient solutions. Key trends identified include advancements in payment systems, healthcare, and smart access control, as well as rising consumer adoption of touch-free interactions.

The Contactless Tech Market Report 2025 highlights the transformative interactions in industries including retail, healthcare, and transportation. These interactions are driven by contactless payment systems, the integration of biometric authentication in secure access systems, and the use of contactless technologies in smart cards and wearable devices. The expansion of contactless solutions into public transit, supply chain tracking, and smart building management highlights the versatility of these technologies. This report examines emerging startups, firmographic data, and investment trends driving the growth in the market.

This contactless technology market outlook serves as a reference for stakeholders within the market, investors, policymakers, and economic analysts, providing a snapshot of the market’s health to map its trajectory for innovation and growth in the coming years.

StartUs Insights Contactless Tech Market Report 2025

 

 

Executive Summary: Contactless Technology Market Report 2025

This contactless tech report is created using data obtained from the Big Data and AI-powered StartUs Insights Discovery Platform, covering more than 4.7 million global companies, as well as 20K+ technologies and emerging trends. We also analyzed a sample of 4320+ contactless tech startups developing innovative solutions to present five examples from emerging contactless tech market trends.

  • Industry Growth Overview: The contactless technology market continues to grow steadily each year, with an increase of 0.81% which reflects its adaptability and growing use in a variety of industries.
  • Manpower & Employment Growth: The market employs more than 2.7 million people worldwide and added 156000 new employees in the previous year which shows its dynamic role in employment creation and economic effect.
  • Patents & Grants: This domain has 439100+ patents filed by 34400+ applicants with an annual patent growth rate of 5.34%. It also received 2600+ grants supporting research and innovation.
  • Global Footprint: Leading country hubs include the United States, India, China, Germany, and the United Kingdom, while top city hubs are Shenzhen, London, New York City, Bangalore, and Singapore.
  • Investment Landscape: With 12100+ investors, 20000+ fundraising rounds, and 4800+ companies raising investments, the market shows an average investment value of USD 20.4 million each round.
  • Top Investors: Goldman Sachs, Walmart, Flipkart, Tiger Global Management, and more are among some of the leading investors who invested over USD 9.4 billion in this sector.
  • Startup Ecosystem: Five innovative startups—SoftPos (contactless payments), IOSEA (indoor location finding solutions), Pebl (point of sale app), Sensing (non-contact vital signs sensing), and Augmental (hands-free touchpad) highlight the market’s entrepreneurial spirit and global reach.
  • Recommendations for Stakeholders: Investors should focus on funding startups innovating in contactless payment systems, Bluetooth low-energy applications, and scalable indoor location technologies to capitalize on growth sectors. Entrepreneurs need to prioritize developing high-precision, non-contact solutions for healthcare, logistics, and retail. Governments should also increase R&D funding in key areas like NFC-enabled systems and non-contact biometric sensing while creating regulations that facilitate secure and widespread adoption.

Explore the Data-driven Contactless Tech Market Report for 2025

The contactless technology outlook report 2025 uses data from the Discovery Platform and encapsulates the key metrics that underline the sector’s dynamic growth and innovation. The contactless tech report’s heatmap depicts the field’s vast terrain supported by data from more than 4300 startups and 48500 companies available in our database. With more than 2.7 million workers worldwide and 156000 new hires in the past year, the market is still expanding steadily.

The domain has a growth rate of 0.81% and a strong innovation pipeline, with over 2600 grants and 439000 patents advancing the field. While major cities like Shenzhen, London, New York City, Bangalore, and Singapore drive concentrated innovation activities, the United States, India, Germany, China, and the United Kingdom emerged as the top country hubs. This data highlights the contactless technology sector’s global reach and dynamic development.

What data is used to create this contactless technology market outlook?

Based on the data provided by our Discovery Platform, we observe that the contactless tech market ranks among the top 5% in the following categories relative to all 20K topics in our database. These categories provide a comprehensive overview of the industry’s key metrics and inform the short-term future direction of the market.

  • News Coverage & Publications: With over 64800 publications in the past year, the contactless technology market has attained notable visibility.
  • Funding Rounds: The field’s relevance in international financing activities is demonstrated by the 20000+ investment rounds that are listed in our database, which show considerable investor interest.
  • Manpower: The contactless tech market has more than 2.7 million workers, having added more than 156000 new employees in the last 12 months.
  • Patents: With over 439100 patents, the market is one of the leaders in invention.
  • Grants: With over 2600 grants awarded, access to resources is noteworthy and demonstrates significant support for research and development initiatives in this area.

A Snapshot of the Global Contactless Tech Market

The contactless technology market is presenting a strong and changing environment with a consistent 0.81% yearly growth rate. With more than 4300 startups worldwide, the ecosystem is active and varied. The company’s stage distribution shows a strong pipeline with 1700+ mergers and acquisitions highlighting market maturity and consolidation and 2000+ early-stage startups driving innovation.

Additionally, with an annual patent growth rate of 5.34%, the market has around 439100 patents submitted by 34400+ applicants. With 152100+ patents, the US leads the invention race, followed by China with 87200+. This also highlights the crucial role both nations have had in influencing the development of contactless technology. Further, the domain’s commitment to ongoing expansion and technological advancement is demonstrated by these statistics.

Explore the Funding Landscape of the Contactless Technology Market

The contactless technology market has strong financial support, with fundraising rounds averaging USD 20.4 million in investment value. More than 12100 investors make up the ecosystem, indicating a varied and active investment base that supports innovation and expansion.

The market has strong activity and broad interest, with over 20000 fundraising rounds finished and over 4800 companies getting investment. This financial data also demonstrates the industry’s capacity to draw large sums of money, advance innovations, and assist a diverse range of companies in their expansion efforts.

Who is Investing in the Contactless Tech Market?

The top investors in the contactless tech field have collectively invested over USD 9.4 billion, reflecting the significant financial commitment to advancing this market. Below is a breakdown of the key investors, the number of companies they have invested in, and their respective investment values:

  • Goldman Sachs invested USD 1.4 billion across 14 companies.
  • Walmart contributed USD 1.2 billion to at least one company.
  • Flipkart directed USD 1.1 billion to at least 1 company
  • Tiger Global Management backed 13 companies with investments totaling USD 1.1 billion.
  • Alibaba invested USD 1 billion across 3 companies.
  • BlackRock provided USD 840.2 million to 6 companies.
  • Ant Group invested USD 830.4 million in 2 companies.
  • CVC Credit Partners directed USD 729.1 million to 2 companies.
  • Crestline contributed USD 597.2 million to at least 1 company.
  • Sixth Street invested USD 591 million across 2 companies.

This section highlights the firmographic data for the contactless tech industry trends. These trends highlight the diverse adoption patterns and evolving dynamics in the industry, showcasing both innovation and market maturity.

  • Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) trend advances the contactless tech market with 480+ identified companies employing over 22200 individuals. The workforce grew by over 1100 in the last year, indicating active hiring and development in this space. BLE has an annual trend growth rate of 18.52%, reflecting increasing adoption across industries for energy-efficient, low-cost wireless connectivity.
  • RFID Technology remains a strong segment in contactless tech with 2350+ companies employing a substantial workforce of 163900. Despite the addition of 7100 employees in the past year, the annual trend growth rate stands at -6.62%. This suggests the technology is mature but still finds applications in logistics, retail, and asset tracking.
  • Zigbee trend includes 840+ companies and a workforce of 27500, which expanded by 1900 employees last year. With an annual growth rate of 2.43%, Zigbee continues to gain traction in smart home solutions and industrial IoT applications which emphasizes its role in connected devices and efficient data transmission.

5 Top Examples from 4320+ Innovative Contactless Tech Startups

The five innovative startups showcased below are picked based on data including the trend they operate within and their relevance, founding year, funding status, and more. Book a demo to find promising startups, emerging trends, or industry data specific to your company’s needs and objectives.

SoftPos enables Contactless Payments

Polish startup SoftPos converts smartphones into professional financial point of sale (POS) terminals that enable merchants to accept contactless payments from physical cards and digital wallets. It does not require extra hardware, as the program works on any Android handset with a near-field communication (NFC) module.

It also includes security features such as client certificates, hardware-backed secure elements, device attestation, attack prevention protocols, and PIN requirements. Further, SoftPos is a scalable, economical, and environmentally responsible solution for companies looking to improve consumer comfort and expedite payment procedures by utilizing current smartphones.

IOSEA offers Indoor Location Finding Solutions

US-based startup IOSEA develops SEAgnal, an indoor location-finding technology that provides solutions for real-time location and direction-finding applications. It uses signal processing and electromagnetic methods to get beyond multipath interference in intricate indoor settings. The technology provides a variety of deployment choices, such as device-based, edge, or cloud-hosted systems, and interfaces with Bluetooth 5.1 angle of arrival/angle of departure (AoA/AoD) solutions.

SEAgnal ensures optimal size, weight, and power (SWAP) with its centimeter-level accuracy, efficiency, and adaptable designs to meet particular needs. It also improves applications including asset monitoring, indoor navigation, and authentication, and is licensed to chip manufacturers, cellular service providers, and device makers.

Pebl develops a Point of Sale App

Australian startup Pebl develops a point-of-sale app that converts smartphones into payment devices, enabling businesses to accept contactless payments without the need for extra hardware. With features including tap-to-pay, QR code payments, and payment links sent by email or SMS, the app uses near-field communication (NFC) technology to process payments directly on smartphones.

Its features also include automatic surcharging, connectivity with programs like Xero, and the capacity to save client information for efficient billing. Further, Pebl offers a pay-as-you-go service with clear transaction fees to get rid of monthly fees and setup expenditures. Moreover, it offers small businesses, events, and professional services an easily accessible and environmentally friendly payment option that improves cash flow and customer satisfaction.

Sensing advances Non-Contact Vital Signs Sensing

Sensing develops non-contact vital signs sensing technology that uses camera-equipped devices to measure biometric data such as pulse rate, respiratory rate, and stress levels. The system works by analyzing facial photographs taken by PCs, tablets, or smartphones without the need for extra wearable hardware.

Its algorithms ensure dependability for both indoor and outdoor use by producing consistent results in a variety of conditions. Sensing’s solution is simple to include in services, allowing for smooth deployment for applications in wellness, stress management, and online medical consultations. Further, the startup improves healthcare delivery and addresses the rising need for contactless medical and wellness services in a new digital lifestyle.

Augmental provides Hands-free Touchpads

US-based startup Augmental offers the MouthPad, a hands-free touchpad that uses head and tongue movements to control gadgets like computers, tablets, and phones. It offers features like clicks, scrolling, and drag-and-drop. The MouthPad is covertly placed on the roof of the mouth to translate these gestures into accurate cursor movements and commands. It works with macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, and Android and connects easily via Bluetooth without the need for any software.

It is made with dental resin and 3D printing to ensure a secure, personalized fit for comfort over time. Augmental also promotes diversity and improves digital engagement by enabling individuals with a range of skills to communicate with technology effectively and privately through a discrete, user-friendly, and accessible interface.

Gain Comprehensive Insights into Contactless Tech Trends, Startups, or Technologies

The contactless tech market report 2025 shows the future of contactless technology that will be shaped by advancements in IoT integration, AI-driven personalization, and expanding applications across industries. Key emerging trends include the adoption of Bluetooth low energy (BLE), RFID technology, and zigbee for efficient, low-power connectivity, alongside biometric authentication and gesture recognition for enhanced user experiences.

These innovations advance connectivity, making interactions more efficient and secure in an increasingly digital world. Get in touch to explore all 4320+ startups and scaleups, as well as all industry trends impacting 48500+ companies.

 

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