American watch maker Fossil Group has announced to sell its intellectual property (IP) related to smartwatch to Google for $40 million. As part of the transaction, a portion of Fossil Group’s research and development (R&D) team currently supporting the transferring IP will join Google.
The transaction is expected to close by January end.
“Fossil Group has experienced significant success in its wearables business by focusing on product design and development informed by our strong understanding of consumers’ needs and style preferences,” said Greg McKelvey, Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy and Digital Officer, Fossil Group.
Fossil Group retains more than 200 R&D team members to focus on innovation and product development. In recent years, smartwatches have become Fossil Group’s fastest growing category. The transaction showcases Fossil Group and Google’s shared investment in the wearables industry.
“The addition of Fossil Group’s technology and team to Google demonstrates our commitment to the wearables industry by enabling a diverse portfolio of smartwatches and supporting the ever-evolving needs of the vitality-seeking, on-the-go consumer,” said Stacey Burr, Vice President of Product Management, Wear OS by Google.
In December of 2018, Fossil Group launched its next generation of smartwatches across brands including Fossil Gen 4 Smartwatch Venture HR and Fossil Explorist HR, Skagen Falster 2, Michael Kors Access Runway, Emporio Armani Connected, A|X Armani Exchange Connected and Diesel Full Guard.
Powered with Wear OS by Google and the Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 2100 platform, the new devices offer features such as heart-rate tracking, untethered GPS, swim-proof functionality, etc.
“We’ve built and advanced a technology that has the potential to improve upon our existing platform of smartwatches. Together with Google, our innovation partner, we’ll continue to unlock growth in wearables,” added McKelvey.
