Withings turns your bathroom into a clinic
When it comes to new players in the healthcare market, one usually thinks of the big tech giants. But in the slipstream of Apple & Co., there are other companies building impressive products. One of them made some headlines in the first weeks of the year…
What happened
Last week, Withings announced that it acquired the Berlin-based startup 8fit, which offers a workout/meal planning app. According to Techcrunch, 8fit has raised more than $10 million to date and makes more than $1 million in monthly revenue from its subscriptions.
But this is not the first exciting piece of news about Withings this year. At CES in January, the company unveiled its new Body Scan health scale, which will soon launch as a CE-marked medical device. The smart scale features a 6-channel ECG device as well as sensors to detect peripheral neuropathy. The technology comes from Impeto Medical, which Withings acquired earlier this year.
With the Body Scan, Withings plans to turn your bathroom into a small clinic.
About Withings
Withings is no newcomer to the connected health market. The company was founded in 2008 and received its first funding in 2010. In 2009, they released the world’s first connected body scale.
Since then, the company has launched not only beautiful smartwatches, but also baby monitors and smart thermometers.
In 2016, the company was acquired by Nokia. The Withings brand disappeared in 2017 along with Withings’ founder and CEO Eric Carreel—only to come back one year later. In 2018, Carrell bought out the company and brought back the name Withings.
Our take
Of course Apple & Co. have more money and a massive user base, but history has shown often enough that focus and dedication are crucial to winning markets. That is why we are bullish that Withings can play an important role in the personal health market of the future.
The company has been building very high-quality smart health devices for years. With the acquisition of Impeto Medical, they are now buying into proprietary medical-grade sensor technology. 8fit, on the other hand, has proven that they can build apps that users pay for on a monthly basis.
This combination of hardware and software is what truly matters in personal health: hardware that delivers relevant medical data, and software that turns the data into meaningful insights and user recommendations.