Jawbone, the Bay Area-based electronics company that makes the activity-tracking UP wristband, has raised over $100 million through debt financing and new equity. The company needed funds in the short term in order to meet product demand, and currently has millions of back-orders to fill.
The company received debt financing and asset-backed loans from Silver Lake Partners, Fortress Investment Group, J.P. Morgan and Wells Fargo. In addition to the loans, Jawbone recently purchased two mobile-focused health and lifestyle companies, Visere and Massive Health, and the health-tracking company, BodyMedia.
Jawbone’s UP wristband is part the growing category of wearable tech. In this category, devices are worn on the wrist, or other parts of the body, in order to track wearers’ activity levels throughout the day and then sync the data to a mobile device. Wearable devices appeal to consumers interested in bettering themselves through measurement. However, since these types of devices are still in the early stages of development, they have yet to offer deep insights on the wearers’ health and activity levels.
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