Medtronic, a medical device company, acquired Klue, the developer of a gesture-tracking app that tracks everyday eating and drinking behaviors, for an undisclosed amount.
Medtronic intends to incorporate Klue’s technology into its Personalized Closed Loop (PCL) insulin pump system, currently in development.
“Klue’s truly unique early meal detection technology can help transform diabetes care,” said Katelijn Vleugels, CEO & founder of Klue in a company press release. “Joining Medtronic creates a tremendous opportunity to advance diabetes therapies and, together, we will accelerate our shared mission to help people with diabetes live their happiest and healthiest lives.”
Klue app tracks everyday eating and drinking behaviors of type 1 diabetes patients. It monitors patients’ motion-related data, heart rate, blood pressure, and temperature information from their wearable devices.
By using gesture sensing via activity trackers combined with analytics technology, Klue’s wearable technology tackles obesity through artificial behavioral intelligence, enabling patients to create new and healthier eating habits in real-time.
The recent acquisition follows the Medtronic’s acquisition of Nutrino Health in November 2018. Nutrino Health provides AI-enabled, nutrition-related data services, analytics, and technologies.
Both acquisitions strengthen the Medtronic’s capabilities in automation and the integration of artificial intelligence into diabetes management systems.
“Bringing Klue and their unique meal detection capabilities into our organization will accelerate our progress to help people with diabetes live with greater freedom and better health,” said Alejandro Galindo, president of the Advanced Insulin Management division (a part of the Diabetes Group at Medtronic) in a company press release. “Based on our learnings from a first-generation hybrid closed loop system around the importance of simplifying diabetes management, we believe the Personalized Closed Loop system will be transformational for diabetes management, and the integration of the Klue technology helps clears the path to a true hands-free closed loop system.”
Similar acquisitions:
CeQur – developer of a wearable insulin delivery device – acquired a three-day, wearable, on-demand bolus insulin-delivery device from Calibra Medical (marketed as OneTouch Via, operates as a subsidiary of LifeScan).
Livongo Health – developer of a cellular-connected blood glucose meter and app for diabetes management – acquired Diabeto, provider of an app-integrated diabetes management device for type 1 and type 2 diabetes patients.
Since 2010, 180 Digital Health Apps companies have been acquired for a total value of $1.8 billion, according to Mercom data.
