Pebble confirms acquisition by Fitbit and stops making smartwatches

Pebble has confirmed that it will be acquired by Fitbit and will stop producing wearables. As a result, the Pebble Time 2, Time Round and the Pebble core will not go into production. Kickstarter backers get their money back.

The company says that due to ‘various circumstances’ it can no longer operate independently and therefore has no choice but to sell itself. Wearable maker Fitbit buys Pebble, except for the company’s hardware branch. Only the software developers and software-related patents are taken over.

Pebble will announce the news on its website and in a post on Kickstarter. There have been rumors about the takeover since early December. The companies do not say what amount is involved in the acquisition, but according to rumors it would be $ 40 million, converted about 37 million euros.

According to Pebble, Fitbit will continue to support existing Pebble wearables for now. The company does say that functionality and the quality of service may decrease over time.

Production of Pebble hardware stops altogether. As a result, the Time 2, the Time Round and the Core will not go into production. Kickstarter backers who have pledged money for these products will get their money back within four to eight weeks. They do not have to take any action themselves. Pebble no longer accepts orders via its own webshop. The company is canceling pre-orders for the Pebble 2 that customers have not yet paid for or have not shipped.

Pebble claims to have shipped two million wearables in its existence. All Pebble products were initially marketed through successful Kickstarter campaigns. That first happened in 2012.