Fitbit to Cancel Pebble Time 2, Pebble Core Upon Acquisition and Refund Backers: Report

Fitbit to Cancel Pebble Time 2, Pebble Core Upon Acquisition and Refund Backers: Report
Highlights
  • The deal announcement is imminent
  • Pebble Time 2 and Pebble Core will be cancelled
  • Only 40 percent of employees will be retained
Advertisement

Last week, it was reported that Fitbit is looking to buy Pebble for as little as $40 million. Now, a fresh report sheds light on more details of the deal, and it looks like the Pebble Time 2 and Pebble Core will never hit the market if this deal comes through.

According to Bloomberg, this Fitbit and Pebble deal is 'imminent' and that only 40 percent of the employees will be retained - mostly software engineers. This testifies further to Fitbit's plans to just acquire the software business, and let go off the hardware and products line. Furthermore, the report states that the Pebble Time 2 and Pebble Core smartwatches will be cancelled, and the money will be refunded to the crowdfunding backers. The smartwatches were crowdfunded on Kickstarter, and the Pebble Time 2 managed to raise $13 million.

(Also see: Fitbit May Buy Pebble, but Can It Really Make a Killer Smartwatch?)

Pebble 2 is being shipped to backers for $99, and there's no clarity on whether Fitbit will keep it on shelves or not. Fitbit is most likely to phase out the Pebble brand, shut off its offices, and discontinue all of its products. It will absorb all the software talent to build its own smartwatches. The fitness wearable forayed into the smartwatch segment only this year, and this acquisition will help it better compete with the Apple Watch.

Over the last year, Pebble has been finding it difficult to stay afloat, and CEO Migicovsky also announced earlier this year that his company had raised $28 million in debt and venture financing to keep the company running. In March, Pebble even let go of 25 percent of its staff to cut costs.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.

NASA Commissions Robot to Repair, Refuel Satellites in Orbit
LeEco Le 1s Eco, Le 2 Get New Exchange Offers, Cashbacks on Flipkart
Share on Facebook Gadgets360 Twitter Share Tweet Snapchat Share Reddit Comment google-newsGoogle News
 
 

Advertisement

Follow Us

Advertisement

© Copyright Red Pixels Ventures Limited 2024. All rights reserved.
Trending Products »
Latest Tech News »