Google has yet to release its own wearable device but the company has still been aggressively expanding into the wearable market through other means. On top of releasing the Android Wear platform for wearables, Google is apparently looking to invest in companies releasing their own wearable devices, starting with Jawbone. According to a recent report, Google is currently in talks to make a “strategic investment” in the startup rather than a complete acquisition.
Google is considering making what several sources close to the situation describe as a “strategic investment” in Jawbone, the high-profile San Francisco maker of a number of wireless and wearable devices such as the Up fitness tracker. The size of the investment and the implied valuation are not clear. In fact, sources said that the pair are still not in agreement as to either, and talks are preliminary and could result in no investment at all. Also: Google is not, as some have speculated, considering buying Jawbone. But, in its latest round of funding efforts to complete a $250 million investment round, the longtime startup has been pegging its value at upward of $3 billion. The attraction for Google to consider investing in Jawbone is obvious, as it seeks to expand into new businesses, especially related to connected devices and sensors, an area that Jawbone has pioneered.