Healbe

Healbe is a Russian developer of smart bracelets.

HealBe was founded in 2012 by Iridium co-owner Artem Shipitsin and Hearst Shkulev MediaStanislav Povolotsky and Georgy Mikaberidze. In the same year, the company bought from the St. Petersburg Center for Innovative Consulting "Algorithm" technology for measuring blood glucose without puncturing the skin, which it was going to use in its fitness trackers.

In 2013, the company announced the Healbe GoBe bracelet, the world's first fitness tracker capable of counting not only the calories spent, but also the calories consumed, just on the basis of the purchased technology. In addition to investments from the founders and the venture capital fund Starta Capital, in the spring of 2014 Healbe raised $1.08 million at the Indiegogo crowdfunding site. The funds were raised in 40 days, the initial goal was determined at the level of $100 thousand.

Then the specialized technical media began to express doubts about whether such functionality can really be implemented in fitness trackers. Doctors for their part reported that measuring blood glucose does not reflect the entire pattern of calorie intake. Healbe was accused of conducting a fraudulent crowdfunding campaign.

Healbe refused to disclose the details of the technology out of concern that competitors could use it. Some investors demanded their funds back. The terms of production of the bracelet were disrupted, investors received the first device only in February 2015. Healbe explained that the Chinese manufacturer was to blame for the delay. In the same year, the bracelet went on sale in Russia and the USA.

Specialized media and medical organizations, having tested the bracelet, confirmed that the device works according to the declared functionality, but with significant errors, especially when calculating the calories consumed. Digital Trends called the bracelet "the most disappointing device" of all that has been used before.

As of March 2016, Healbe has sold about 15 thousand devices, 95% of which were sold abroad. In October of the same year, Healbe raised $6.5 million from Starta Capital and soon released a second, improved version of the bracelet^[1].

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