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Smartwatch Maker Pebble Lays Off 25% of Staff

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Jason Cipriani
Jason Cipriani
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By
Jason Cipriani
Jason Cipriani
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March 23, 2016, 4:09 PM ET
The Pebble Time lineup broke crowdfunding records on Kickstarter when it launched early this year.
The Pebble Time lineup broke crowdfunding records on Kickstarter when it launched early this year.Courtesy of Pebble

Pebble, the company that helped usher in the smartwatch era, is tightening spending through a round of layoffs.

On Wednesday, Pebble CEO Eric Migicovsky told Tech Insider that 40 employees, equating to roughly 25% of his company’s workforce, would be let go this week.

According to Migicovsky, the layoffs are required due to “a chilly fundraising environment” in Silicon Valley.

Pebble originally saw success with its first smartwatch on Kickstarter, where the company’s campaign raised over $10 million in 2012.

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The firm later raised another $20 million via its second Kickstarter campaign for its current crop of Pebble Time smartwatches.

In addition to its Kickstarter success, Migicovsky told Tech Insider that Pebble raised another $26 million over the last eight months.

By letting employees go when raising money is getting tougher, the company can focus on its future. Migicovsky says his company has a vision for “where wearables will take us” over the next five to 10 years.

Earlier this month, Pebble dropped the price of its Pebble Time and Time Round smartwatches by $50. The price drop rounds out Pebble’s product offering, which ranges from $100 to $250, depending on the model.

Read more: Why Pebble’s Smartwatch Price Drop Is a Smart Move

In December, the company added fitness tracking capabilities to its Pebble Time lineup of watches. Through a health app, the watch gained the ability to count steps and track sleep.

According to Migicovsky, Pebble’s focus going forward will continue to be development of health and fitness features as well as an expansion to India through a partnership with Amazon.

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