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- Founded: 1997
- Ceased Operations: 2017
What did Jawbone do?
Jawbone was an American technology company that developed and sold wearable technology and portable audio devices. Jawbone’s first product was the Jawbone Jambox, a wireless speaker that was released in 2010. The Jambox was a commercial success, and it helped to make Jawbone a leading player in the wireless speaker market. In 2011, Jawbone released the UP, a fitness tracker that was designed to track users’ activity, sleep, and diet. The UP was also a commercial success, and it helped to make Jawbone a leader in the wearable technology market.
Jawbone raised over $930 million in funding from a variety of investors, including Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Khosla Ventures, and the Kuwait Investment Authority. Jawbone’s valuation peaked at $3.2 billion in 2014.
Who started Jawbone?
Founders Hosain Rahman and Alexander Asseily
Why did Jawbone go out of business?
Jawbone released a number of products that were not well-received by consumers. For example, the Jawbone Up3 was plagued by problems with its heart rate sensor. These product failures damaged Jawbone’s reputation and made it difficult for the company to attract new customers. Fitbit was a major competitor to Jawbone, and it quickly became the market leader in wearable devices. Fitbit’s devices were more user-friendly and had a longer battery life than Jawbone’s devices.
Jawbone was criticized for its poor management. The company had a high turnover rate among employees, and it was slow to respond to market changes. In the end, Jawbone’s problems were too much for the company to overcome. Jawbone filed for bankruptcy in 2017 and ceased operations.