Apple buys sleep tracking firm Beddit in wake of valuation exceeding US$800 for first time

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has bought Finnish start-up firm, Beddit, which specialise in tracking sleep patterns.

Beddit revealed the takeover in the small print of its privacy policy for users of its sleep tracking device, which placed on mattresses to collect data that can be viewed via an app for iPhone and Apple Watch.

The firm has raised US$3.5mln (£2.7m) in funding since it was founded in 2007 and has been selling the device in Apple stores since 2015.

In its policy, Beddit said: “Beddit has been acquired by Apple. Your personal data will be collected, used and disclosed in accordance with the Apple privacy policy.”

The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The sleep tracking device retails at £130 and consists of a 1.5mmln thick strip of sensors that are placed on top of the mattress and connected to a power outlet. It monitors sleep time and quality, heart rate, breathing rate and snoring.

Sleep tracking has remained a weak spot for the Apple Watch despite its otherwise comprehensive health-tracking tools.

Still, Apple is the world’s largest wearable device manufacturer, having shipped 3.5mln of the Apple Watch and holding 16% of market share in the first quarter of 2017, according to data from Strategy Analytics. Until recently Fitbit was the market leader in wearable device sales.

News of the deal with Beddit came after Apple became the first company to exceed a US$800bn market capitalisation on Monday.

Apple reached the milestone after Drexel Hamilton raised its target price to US$202 a share from US$185, giving the company an estimated US$1trn valuation.

Its share price was also lifted by news that Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc disclosed in its quarterly filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday that it raised its stake to US$19.2bn at 31 March from US$7.1bn at 31 December.

Story by ProactiveInvestors