Valencell marks three years of triple digit growth

Valencell has achieved a third consecutive year of triple digit growth for its biometric wearable technology in 2016 with a 360 percent increase in companies who have acquired Valencell technology over last year. The company also reports robust interest in its technology for hearables for fitness and healthcare applications.

Valencell develops performance biometric sensor technology and provides this patent-protected technology to consumer electronics manufacturers, wearable and hearable device makers, sports and fitness brands, medical device makers, and gaming companies for integration into their products. Valencell also offers product licensing and patent licensing, to enable customers to create custom-designed biometric hearable and wearable devices.

There are 17 Valencell-powered products currently in the market, with ten debuting in 2016, including the Bose SoundSport Pulse, Jabra Elite Sport, Jabra Sport Pulse Special Edition, and the FIIL Carat Pro. The company reports a strong lineup of new products scheduled to launch in 2017.

The company also announced that it has seen a 35 percent growth in granted patents in 2016, with 10 new patents added this year. Valencell has a highly-cited patent portfolio in optical biometric sensor technology in the wearables and hearables industry, which now includes 39 patents granted and more than 90 additional patents pending.

Valencell’s growth has outpaced the worldwide wearables market, which recently recorded its tenth consecutive quarter of steady growth. According to IDC, vendors shipped a total of 22.5 million wearables in the second quarter of 2016 alone – a 26.1 percent increase from the same quarter last year. Growth is particularly strong in the global hearables device market, which industry experts believe will surpass $40 billion by 2020. In addition, the market for wearable medical devices is expected to reach $17.8B by 2021.

The surge in hearable devices is driven by strong brand names and advancements in wearables technology, including new “true wireless technology”, smaller and more accurate biometric sensors, improved battery life, and the use case alignment of listening to music while desiring fitness feedback and training.

“This year we saw the market for hearable devices take off, particularly in the sports and fitness market, where consumers are frustrated with the user experience and accuracy of low-performance wrist-worn devices and looking for high-performance wearables and hearables in form factors that better fit their lifestyles,” said Dr. Steven LeBoeuf, president and co-founder of Valencell. “The marketplace has discovered how combining Valencell’s accurate sensor technology with compelling audio experiences can drive consumer interest and engagement. Consumers use audio earbuds during exercise far more often than wrist-worn fitness trackers, and the combination of new wearable technologies has made the dream of seamless audio sport computers a reality.”

The emerging market for mobile health/medical wearables has also been gravitating towards hearables.

“We have been a bit surprised that most of the market pull for mobile health wearables is coming from companies interested in ear-worn products,” said LeBoeuf. “Because the ear location can be employed to measure more biometrics more accurately than for the wrist location, most of Valencell’s medical collaborations have focused on small earpieces that can be worn 24/7.”

Valencell provides its biometric sensor technology through its Benchmark sensor system, a turnkey biometric sensor system with the complete PerformTek technology package ready for immediate integration into wearable and hearable devices.

Article Topics

biometric sensors  |  biometrics  |  financial results  |  Valencell  |  wearables