AAA Jawbone tries on BodyMedia

Jawbone tries on BodyMedia

Jawbone, a US-based maker of audio devices and wearable technology backed by Germany-based phone operator Deutsche Telekom, has acquired BodyMedia, a local maker of wearable body monitors backed by corporate venturing units Comcast Ventures and Ascension Health Ventures, for reportedly more than $100m.

In May last year, BodyMedia raised $12m from cable company Comcast and medical services provider Ascension Health’s corporate venturing units and venture capital firms Draper Fisher Jurvetson ePlanet, Draper Triangle Ventures and InCube Ventures.

At the time of the last round, Michael Yang, managing director of Comcast Ventures, which provided the majority of the $12m, said: “Analysts are forecasting a 47% annual growth rate in the wearable sensor market over the next few years, so there is big business potential in this space. BodyMedia has both proven technology and a clear road map for growth.”

Yang had joined BodyMedia’s board alongside John Miclot, executive president of clinical-stage biotechnology company Tengion and former chief executive of sleep and respiratory care medical supply company Respironics (now Philips Respironics), and Linda Hall Keller, who has served in executive positions at UnitedHealth Group and MinuteClinic.

In its regulatory filings since its foundation in 1999, BodyMedia said it had raised $4m in October 2010.

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