Jawbone has been trying to compete in the wearable device market for several years now but recent reports have suggested that the company is trying to pivot in a major way. It was rumored last year that Jawbone was soon going to stop the production of all of its consumer fitness wearable devices. According to a new report, Jawbone is close to announcing a full move away from consumer wearable devices.
TechCrunch reports that Jawbone will abandon consumer wearable devices and will exclusively create products and services for health care providers and clinicians.
The report adds that Jawbone is raising funds for this transition. It’s believed to have raised around $951 million from big investors like JP Morgan. It also mentions that Jawbone has spent almost half of what it has raised “with very little to show in returns.”
“Every wearable company today will be posed with this question: Do I want to play in consumer and narrow margins, or healthcare and service and make incredible margins but with possibly a lot of upfront fixed cost,” a source quoted in the report said. Jawbone apparently decided to make the switch after seeing existing companies make good money with the model that it wants to emulate.
The company is yet to confirm if it’s taking such a big step. Jawbone is still selling its UP fitness trackers through its website but the scribe does mention that Jawbone has been selling its assets silently over the past few months. It also merits mentioning here that Jawbone hasn’t launched a new UP fitness tracker for a couple of years now.
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