Google to acquire Fitbit, valuing smartwatch maker at $2.1 billion @google @fitbit #HeyGoogle #makerbusiness

Google to acquire Fitbit, valuing smartwatch maker at $2.1 billion.

Google parent company Alphabet will buy Fitbit, putting the tech giant head to head with Apple in the fitness tracking space. The deal values Fitbit around $2.1 billion at a fully diluted equity value, according to Friday’s announcement.

Some details/guesses maybe.. Fitbit 2019 revenue was estimated at about $1.45 billion, so purchase price was about 2x. In 2017, Fitbit disclosed that it bought smartwatch startup Pebble for $23 million.

That’s not all Google is getting, all the employers that signed up for this, Google gets that too.

Hardware in the “wearables” category is growing, it’s now bigger than iPad for Apple.

In September of 2019, Google reportedly paid $40 million to Fossil …

Google’s $40 million acquisition of Fossil’s tech earlier this year was reportedly for hybrid smartwatches. Fossil’s technology is internally called Project Diana, stemming from the combination of the words “digital” and “analog,”

…

Diana combines “physical watch features with digital elements,” according to the report, including some watches without screens.

That $40 million reportedly covers a license to use Diana tech, along with around 20 engineers who were acquired by Fossil in its own $260 million acquisition of Misfit in 2015.

At the Amazon Devices Event – September 2019, Amazon announced Echo Loop an Alexa-enabled smart ring, Echo Frames – Alexa-enabled glasses, Echo Buds (Alexa in ear buds), Ring Fetch – a dog tracker (dog wearable).

Here is the use case for the Amazon + WholeFoods, and Echo Buds integration that Amazon is proposing.

What’s Facebook up to? Not sure for this space, however I tried to run down this story but there’s not much there… “Facebook Acquires CTRL-Labs For ‘Less Than $1 Billion’” … looks like a neural interface device based on the CTRL-Labs purchased of the patents of the Myo band (our teardown here).

Microsoft is sitting this one out (publicly at least) for now. Mostly promoting Samsung stuff.

Microsoft did release Microsoft Band in 2014 and Microsoft Band 2 in 2015.

8 years ago-ish on MAKE Magazine I wrote “Is the Rise of Wearable Electronics Finally Here?”. Pictured above, my Microsoft SPOT watch (2005) with RSS feeds running to it (custom/hack).

Are there any open-source alternatives? Yes, sorta, it’s not out yet – PINETIME – An Open Source Smartwatch For Your Favorite Devices. Low Cost, High Fidelity.

November 2, 2019 AT 12:55 pm

Google to acquire Fitbit, valuing smartwatch maker at $2.1 billion @google @fitbit #HeyGoogle #makerbusiness

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November 2, 2019 AT 12:55 pm

Google to acquire Fitbit, valuing smartwatch maker at $2.1 billion @google @fitbit #HeyGoogle #makerbusiness

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