Nokia said this morning that it’s buying French health tracking company Withings for a reported €170 million, or about $192 million, as it looks to gain a foothold in the competitive digital health market.
Withings, which designs, builds and sells wearables with health and fitness tracking features, as well as devices for the connected home such as smart weighing scales, thermometers, blood pressure monitors, home and baby monitors and so forth, will become part of Nokia’s Technologies business.
The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of this year.
“We have said consistently that digital health was an area of strategic interest to Nokia, and we are now taking concrete action to tap the opportunity in this large and important market,” said Rajeev Suri, President and CEO of Nokia.
Withings products are built on its own platform which syncs data with Apple’s Health database through the company’s Health Mate mobile app. The French company is perhaps best known for its Go activity tracker and the Activité smartwatch lineup.
Withings’ iOS-compatible $150 Activité Pop smartwatches are pictured top of post.
Founded by Chairman Eric Carreel and CEO Cedric Hutchings in 2008, Withings employs approximately 200 people across its locations in Paris, France, Cambridge, the United States and Hong Kong.
Source: Nokia