Will.i.am’s tech firm will not be purchasing Earin after all. This was announced by the true wireless earbud startup. The purchase first turned public almost more than a year back at CES 2018, when reports surfaced that i.am+, the musician’s tech brand, would be purchasing the Swedish firm for an unnamed amount.
In its declaration, Earin claimed that the planned purchase stalled due to “unfulfilled challenges,” but did not offer any further info. It claimed that the firm might “return to its ground-breaking roots” below its original leadership team.
With a bit of luck, the declaration means that Earin can get itself running after a grappling few years. Its first true wireless earbuds were troubled with poor battery life and connectivity problems, and its second device, the M2 earbuds, did not ship till August last year in spite of being declared way earlier at the start of 2017.
It is possibly for the best that the purchase by i.am+ never succeeded. The firm has tried its hand at various wireless earbuds and smartwatches, and most of them have been pretty awful. Now, its website recommends it is hard at operate on a business-aimed AI platform dubbed as Omega.
On a related note, Will.I.am earlier declared plans of a smart home platform. i.am+ earlier purchased Wink, which creates hubs for linked household devices.
The news arrived by means of an email sent to Wink consumers (spotted by media several outlets). “Our teams are in the procedure of collaborating together to shape our future pipeline and we cannot wait to share what we are operating on,” the email said apparently. It goes on that present Wink software and hardware will not be impacted. This is the kind of like Will.i.am’s bank account or career if this venture does not pan out.