Intel Is the Latest to Bail on Wearables

The nascent market for wearable technology has been brutal, and the latest company to throw in the towel is none other than chip giant Intel (NASDAQ: INTC). CNBC reports that Intel has shuttered its division that was working on wearable devices, laying off upwards of 80% of employees in the group. Some of these employees were able to move to other departments internally. TechCrunch had previously reported that Intel was shifting its focus away from wearables, but Intel denied the report at the time. Here's the statement that Intel provided TechCrunch in November:

Intel is in no way stepping back from the wearables business. In fact, we have several products in the works that we are very excited about, as well as prior launches that highlight our wearable technology such as the TAG Heuer Connected watch and recent Oakley Radar Pace smart eyewear.

Over the past few years, Intel has acquired a couple smaller companies in an effort to bolster its wearable street cred. It bought Basis (which made a fitness tracking watch) in 2014 for an estimated $100 million to $150 million, followed by Recon Instruments (which made a fitness-oriented smart glasses) for an estimated $175 million. That's an awful lot of money that might need to be written off now.

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Source: Fool.com