Google Completes Fitbit Acquisition

Google has officially completed the acquisition of Fitbit, a wearables company, for an eye-popping $2.1 billion.

Announcing the news, Rick Osterloh, Senior Vice President, Devices & Services at Google, says the acquisition of Fitbit will ramp up competition in the wearables market, which will ensure that the next generation devices will be better and more affordable.

The company says it will work closely with the Fitbit team “to create new devices and services” around the wellness topic.

Fitbit was created 13 years ago, releasing its first fitness tracker in 2009. To date, the company has several devices on the market with a presence in over 100 countries and more than 120 million units shipped, and over 29 million active users globally.

Osterloh addressed concerns around data privacy – a major issue that derailed the deal’s closure since its first announcement in November 2019.

“… we are committed to protecting your health information and putting you in control of your data,” adding that the Fitbit deal “has always been about devices, not data.”

The company has worked closely with EU regulators in the past and promises that it won’t use Fitbit users’ health and wellness data for Google Ads and will be kept separate from other Google Ads data. Google will maintain access to Android APIs that ensure compatibility of fitness trackers and smartwatches with different devices and won’t restrict Fitbit users from connecting to third-party services to ensure they can still sync with other health and wellness apps.

“I have no doubt that this acquisition will create so many opportunities. But I also want you to know that many of the things you know and love about Fitbit will remain the same,” wrote Fitbit CEO James Park.

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