SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--iBeat, a wearable technology company empowering people to live longer lives, today announced it has closed another $3 million in funding, bringing its total seed stage funding to $4.5 million. New investors include WTI, SV Tech Ventures, Lee Equity, and renowned entrepreneurs and angel investors Michael Rubin, Mark Burg, and Harald Ludwig. They join original investors Maveron, Subtraction Capital, Correlation Ventures, Band of Angels, super-angels Ali and Hadi Partovi, KKR founding partner Henry Kravis, and cardiothoracic surgeon and host of “The Dr. Oz Show,” Dr. Mehmet Oz. The company is also pleased to share it is building out its executive bench with leaders from Stanford University and Apple.

“iBeat has truly set themselves apart in an industry that has had little to no innovation in the past three decades,” said Jun Li, Managing Partner at SV Tech Ventures. “While other personal emergency response products like LifeAlert are stigmatizing, and confine users to their homes, iBeat aims to help millions of older adults living at home retain their independence while being one of the only consumer devices on the market that can detect if you or a loved one is alive and well. We are glad to invest in such a promising startup.”

iBeat plans to use the additional funds to begin clinical testing, refine its sales and marketing strategies, and further scale its tooling and manufacturing operations fueled by significant user demand, including 42,000+ individuals of whom have shown early interest in the product. The company will also continue its commitment to growth and innovation through hiring a team of outstanding people, which now includes Dr. Mintu Turakhia, an Associate Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine at Stanford University and Apple product veterans Roby DeManche and Drew Atkinson.

Dr. Mintu Turakhia is a practicing cardiac electrophysiologist, outcomes researcher, and Associate Professor of Medicine at Stanford University. As iBeat’s Chief Clinical Consultant, Dr. Turakhia will focus on clinical validation and outcomes studies that best leverage iBeat’s technology for patients, consumers, and caregivers.

“My passion is in developing, testing, and scaling tech-enabled health care solutions to improve outcomes,” said Dr. Turakhia, who is internationally recognized for his work in clinical trials and digital health in cardiovascular disease. “What iBeat is doing has extraordinary potential to save hundreds of thousands of lives. Their team is dedicated to finding new innovations through scientific rigor and validation, I look forward to helping them build a research and clinical program that demonstrates that.”

With nearly 20 years of experience in engineering, hardware operations, and global supply chain management, Roby DeManche will be leading iBeat’s manufacturing operations and logistics. He hails from several notable consumer brands including Apple, Samsung, home thermostat maker Nest, and Ford Motor Company. Alongside Roby, Drew Atkinson joins as Director of Hardware Engineering and will be responsible for iBeat’s mechanical and electrical hardware design. Prior to iBeat, Drew worked on the engineering teams at Apple, GoPro, and high-tech smart oven maker, June.

“Our ability to attract the best talent in the valley is testament to the power of our mission and business model. We’re thrilled to welcome these remarkable individuals to our team, and are humbled by the tremendous interest we’ve seen in our product and from our supporting network,” said Ryan Howard, founder and CEO of iBeat. “The funding from new and existing investors not only validates the important work our team has done in demonstrating the watch’s ability to recognize life-threatening heart emergencies, but is also an affirmation of our technology and will help sustain our greater vision to reduce preventable deaths from these emergencies. We look forward to continuing this mission and building out a team of remarkable individuals keen on making a massive impact on the community.”

iBeat expects to double headcount by the end of 2017 and is currently hiring. To see available positions and join a team of remarkable people building tech that saves lives, visit www.ibeat.com/careers.

About iBeat

Located in the heart of San Francisco, iBeat is a technology company empowering people to be fearless, explore, and live longer lives. The company is currently building a breakthrough cellular smartwatch that continually monitors users’ 24-7 heart activity, and can also be used to get help in an emergency. In the case of a life-threatening emergency, iBeat will instantly alert the user, their loved ones, and emergency responders in real-time, helping ensure immediate care and potentially saving the user’s life.

Luxury smartphone manufacturer Vertu has gone into liquidation after its famously expensive handsets failed to capture the imagination of the rich and famous. The closure of the UK-based firm, which made alligator skin, gold and diamond-encrusted phones priced from £11,100, will result in the loss of 200 jobs. Vertu was founded by Finnish mobile giant Nokia in 1998 and launched its first luxury mobile phone in 2002, before it was sold in 2012 to private equity group EQT VI.

Luxury smartphone manufacturer Vertu has gone into liquidation after its famously expensive handsets failed to capture the imagination of the rich and famous. The closure of the UK-based firm, which made alligator skin, gold and diamond-encrusted phones priced from £11,100, will result in the loss of 200 jobs. Vertu was founded by Finnish mobile giant Nokia in 1998 and launched its first luxury mobile phone in 2002, before it was sold in 2012 to private equity group EQT VI. SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE: Display of Vertu's world's most expensive mobile phones at a showroom in Singapore 13 August 2004. Despite their hefty price and relatively limited functions, sleek handcrafted phones manufactured by Vertu, an independent unit of wireless communications giant Nokia, are becoming sought-after status symbols in Asia..AFP PHOTO/JIMIN LAI (Photo credit should read JIMIN LAI/AFP/Getty Images) Vertu is a good example of how money can’t buy you taste (Photo: Getty) The phones, which featured sapphire crystal screens and ruby bearings, were hand-assembled in its factories in Hampshire, and attracted celebrity fans including actress Gwyneth Paltrow (Vertu’s first customer), Jennifer Lopez and Madonna, reportedly. The company was sold again for £50m to Turkish businessman Hakan Uzan in March, who promised to help Vertu “realise its full potential”.

Uzan slashed the price of the firm’s non-customised models to between £4,000 and £7,000, but reports continued to circulate over its poor finances. Its manufacturing arm went into administration last month. VERTU’S MOST RIDICULOUS PHONE Vertu’s most expensive handset was the Signature Clous de Paris Red Gold, which featured 18 carat red gold, black sapphire keys and a £39,100 price tag. Uzan will retain the brand, design licences and technology, and intends to rebuild the company at a later date, a person close to the matter told the Financial Times. While aimed firmly at a luxury market, Vertu’s creations failed to attract much praise in technology circles. They originally ran Nokia’s Symbian operating system before switching to Google’s Android in 2013, and failed to support Bluetooth or GPS when they first launched.

The tastes of the rich and famous gradually shifted away from blingy mobiles and BlackBerries to iPhones in the late 2000s, which more often than not are the celebrity’s handset of choice. iPhones have become aspirational status symbols for people on all incomes, but those with flashier tastes could employ the services of businesses built around blinging up existing iPhones with diamonds, or creating 24 carat gold cases, rather than splash out on an expensive handset which will still require replacing every few years. - By Rhiannon Williams - inews.co.uk


Read more at: https://inews.co.uk/essentials/news/technology/luxury-phone-maker-vertu-bit-the-dust-because-the-rich-own-iphones/