A diverse set of VC and corporate players is betting on wearables ranging from Best Buy to Foxconn to Bertelsmann.
The consumer wearable tech ecosystem which is seeing companies doing everything from baby monitors to fitness trackers to hearing amplifiers saw an explosion of investor interest in 2013 – to the tune of $458M across 49 deals.
Although some suggest wearables are an overhyped fad, it’s clear more and more investors are taking an interest in the market. In 2013, 69 different venture capital firms or corporate investors participated in a wearables company financing. This is 8x greater than the number that did a deal in the space in 2010 and 4x the levels of 2011. [insert comment about lemmings here]
Corporate investors, in particular, that have participated in a wearable tech deal span come from a diverse array of industries and not the typical tech corporates one might expect. As an example, in 2014 YTD, corporate investors involved in a wearable tech deal include Foxconn (SoundHawk), Reply SpA (Sensoria), Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments (Zepp Labs) and Best Buy Capital (Valencell) to name just a few.
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