Several reports this week claimed that Fitbit would acquire Pebble, and today both companies confirmed that the acquisition will happen. This deal, however, only includes the software assets of Pebble. The acquisition does not include hardware.
There are no confirmed details of the deal, which is supposed to be around $40 million. The official statement does confirm what Fitbit will acquire and what the future holds for Pebble’s hardware. This acquisition brings talented software developers skilled in platform and application development, to be used to improve the software on Fitbit’s hardware. The developers from Pebble will work right along side with Fitbit’s currents development team.
James Park, CEO and co-founder of Fitbit, said the following regarding the deal: “With basic wearables getting smarter and smartwatches adding health and fitness capabilities, we see an opportunity to build on our strengths and extend our leadership position in the wearables category. With this acquisition, we’re well positioned to accelerate the expansion of our platform and ecosystem to make Fitbit a vital part of daily life for a wider set of consumers, as well as build the tools healthcare providers, insurers and employers need to more meaningfully integrate wearable technology into preventative and chronic care.”
For Pebble, the acquisition means the end for the company, which was founded in 2009. Pebble founder Eric Migicovsky explained that “due to various factors,” Pebble could no longer operate as an independent operation. The developers will go to Fitbit and the hardware production at Pebble will be halted.
Since the hardware production will shut down, warranty support on released products by Pebble will no longer be available. They will remain to operate as normal, while the software will be maintained by Fitbit. However, support could be reduced in the future, so beware.
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