Major technology trends like artificial intelligence dominate the headlines. But tech investor Richard Clode says that despite the low hype, some niche markets such as the Internet of Things (IoT) still have huge potential. Clode, fund manager at Janus Henderson Investors, named NXP Semiconductors and Impinj as two IoT stocks he sees as long-term winners. He manages the $3.2 billion Horizon Global Technology Leaders Fund, which invests in both stocks. One IoT technology he sees as gaining ground is radio frequency identification (RFID) for supply chain tracking. RFID uses small wireless chips to track inventory and assets. It was hailed as a breakthrough in supply chain visibility in the early 2000s. But the technology at the time was too expensive and unreliable. NXPI PI 1Y line “The best time to invest in technology is when they’ve just gone through the antipathy phase where no one wants to talk about the technology because everyone is burned out,” said Crowder, noting that IoT news has now fallen silent after dominating the headlines five or six years ago. With costs falling and performance improving, Wal-Mart and UPS are rolling out RFID to tag goods on a large scale after years of piloting. “Walmart used to use RFID in apparel, and now it’s mandatory for almost all suppliers in all categories: ‘If you want to supply to Walmart, you have to tag every single item,'” Clode told CNBC’s “Pro Talks,” emphasizing the technology’s popularity. “We’re seeing a lot of these technologies; they’re real, they’re proliferating, and they’re improving the efficiency of these retailers’ supply chains,” he added. “I think it’s a good example of how we’re looking at the real side of IoT or smart cities, as opposed to that kind of blanket term, which is kind of general and vague, and there’s no specifics behind it.” Clode said NXP and Impinj, the major makers of RFID chips today, stand to benefit from the trend. Their specialized chips can transmit information wirelessly, without batteries or line of sight, making them ideal for supply chain applications. The US-listed Dutch multinational NXP Semiconductors is the best-known automotive microchip company, with a market capitalization of US$58bn. Impinj, which focuses purely on RFID chips, has a smaller valuation of $2.4 billion. The analyst consensus sees a 45% upside price target for the stock over the next 12 months.