Fitbit CEO James Park announced the company’s recent purchase of a new wearable technology asset.
Fitbit, the leading wearable fitness tracker device maker, acquired expertise and software from European smartwatch maker Vector Watch, but the deal did not include Vector’s line of luxury devices.
Fitbit did not disclose the price of the Vector purchase.
Despite Fitbit sales growth stalling at the end of 2016, Fortune reported, the wearable maker has plans to move up the market this year with new product releases that are expected to include more smartwatch-like features.
“As with our recently announced acquisition of Pebble assets, Vector brings valuable industry expertise that will help accelerate the development of new products, features and functionality,” Fitbit said in a statement. “With the addition of the Vector Watch team, we are establishing a cutting-edge development center in Bucharest, Romania, further building our global engineering capabilities and expanding our presence in EMEA.”
Last month, Fitbit acquired Pebble’s key personal and intellectual property related to software and firmware development, but the acquisition excluded the company’s hardware products. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but media reports pegged the price tag at anywhere from $35 million to $40 million. Fitbit said the acquisition will facilitate faster delivery of new products, features and functionality. Pebble’s hardware will cease to exist with the deal.
“With basic wearables getting smarter and smartwatches adding health and fitness capabilities, we see an opportunity to build on our strengths and extend our leadership position in the wearables category,” Park said in the press release. “With this acquisition, we’re well-positioned to accelerate the expansion of our platform and ecosystem to make Fitbit a vital part of daily life for a wider set of consumers, as well as build the tools health care providers, insurers and employers need to more meaningfully integrate wearable technology into preventative and chronic care.”