A prominent smartwatch maker that Apple was reportedly interested in acquiring was acquired this week by Intel.
TechCrunch was first to confirm that Intel won the auction for Basis and will spend an estimated $100 million to close the deal. Since official word of the acquisition surfaced, however, others have suggested that the final price tag may be closer to $150 million.
Basis makes heath-centric smartwatches and presently controls about 7 percent of this young but lucrative emerging market.
“As Intel was all about the wearables this year at CES, we’re assuming that this buy is an attempt to further its foothold (wristhold?) in the space,” TechCrunch reports.
Intel is playing catch-up to rivals such as Qualcomm, Texas Instruments and STMicroelectronics, which are currently providing the bulk of the sensors for wearables. Intel not only needs to sell brands on buying Intel’s wearable platforms, but provide complete solutions in order to jumpstart adoption. With its robust online suite, Basis provides a solid foundation for that complete package.
Beyond Apple, Google was also believed to be interested in Basis, but Intel was ultimately the winning bidder.
