• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Pentagon accuses Alibaba, Baidu and BYD, three of China's biggest companies, of supporting the Chinese military

2

'We are rapidly running out of time': Watchdog sounds Social Security alarm after 22% cut confirmed for 2032

3

Costco CEO Ron Vachris rose from forklift driver to the C-suite without a college degree: ‘Don’t chase a title’ is the career advice that got him there

1

Pentagon accuses Alibaba, Baidu and BYD, three of China's biggest companies, of supporting the Chinese military

2

'We are rapidly running out of time': Watchdog sounds Social Security alarm after 22% cut confirmed for 2032

3

Costco CEO Ron Vachris rose from forklift driver to the C-suite without a college degree: ‘Don’t chase a title’ is the career advice that got him there
NewslettersTerm Sheet

The second coming of health trackers

Lucinda Shen
By
Lucinda Shen
Lucinda Shen
Down Arrow Button Icon
Lucinda Shen
By
Lucinda Shen
Lucinda Shen
Down Arrow Button Icon
August 30, 2021, 10:58 AM ET

This is the web version of Term Sheet, a daily newsletter on the biggest deals and dealmakers. Sign up to get it delivered free to your inbox. 

If you’ll allow me to jog your memory from late 2016: The Chicago Cubs had just won the World Series for the first time since 1908, the IPO market was paltry, Donald Trump had just been elected the President of the United States, and investors were growing wary of the bevy of health trackers as Apple gained market share with its Watch.

Smart watch maker Pebble shut down as $3 billion Jawbone wound down in 2017. Intel later pivoted from wearables to augmented reality. Even FitBit—which finally closed its roughly $2 billion sale to Alphabet earlier this year—struggled amid the growth of Apple’s product.

But interest in the space has ballooned recently, despite the giants (ahem Apple, Amazon, and Google) now in the space. Fitness watch maker Whoop on Monday revealed it had raised $200 million in funding at a $3.6 billion valuation led by SoftBank’s Vision Fund. In May, fitness ring maker Oura raised $100 million to focus on sleep.

Also on Monday, smart mattress maker Eight Sleep raised an $86 million round of Series C funding, valuing it at nearly $500 million per sources with knowledge of the matter. The startup currently uses a series of sensors to regulate temperature and to measure if a consumer is getting a good amount of sleep—though in the future, CEO Matteo Franceschetti plans to roll out tools that could mark if a user is showing signs of the flu in the near future. And further out, the company is working on sensors that could signal if a user is showing irregularities pointing to cancer.

With a $2,945 smart mattress and a $1,720 cover headlining its suit of products, Eight Sleep is not cheap. But CEO Franceschetti says that it’s able to fit more sophisticated sensors into its product than say FitBit or Apple can at the mattress’ price and size. And while the mattress business is not easy, as Casper has shown, Franceschetti notes that the rise of Peloton has shown that consumers are willing to pay big dollars for the sake of their health. Currently, Eight Sleep users in fact largely already own some kind of connected fitness device, like the Apple Watch.

Still, Eight Sleep is not alone in its mission to track diseases and disorders: Apple is reportedly working on a wearable to track changes in metabolism that could point to cancer. Oura CEO Harpreet Rai has been quoted saying he believes tracking factors such as “sleep apnea, blood pressure” will shift wearables into their next stage. Which raises the question, which wearable will then be the most accurate? Time will tell.

Read the story of Eight Sleep here.

GAMING IN CHINA: China has banned minors, those under 18, from playing online video games for more than three hours a week in a blow to gaming giants Tencent and NetEase. This also comes coincidentally as TikTok maker ByteDance has acquired a virtual reality company, Pico. Read more.

Lucinda Shen
Twitter: 
@shenlucinda
Email: 
lucinda.shen@fortune.com

VENTURE DEALS

- Petlove&Co, a Brazil-based online store for pets, raised R$750 million ($150 million). Riverwood Capital led the round and was joined by investors including Tarpon, SoftBank, L Catterton, Porto Seguro, and Monashees. 

- Genome Medical, a South San Francisco-based genomic care company, raised $60 million in Series C funding and acquired GeneMatters, a telehealth genetic counseling and software company. Casdin Capital led the round and was joined by investors including GV.

- Origin, a San Francisco-based employee financial wellness platform, raised $56 million in Series B funding valuing it at $400 million. Dick Costolo and Adam Bain’s 01A, General Catalyst, and Lachy Groom led the round and were joined by investors including Founders Fund, Felicis Ventures, and Abstract Ventures.

- Jifiti, a Columbus, Oh.-based buy-now-pay-later fintech, raised $20 million in funding. Ingka Investments led the round.

- Urbanbase, a South Korea-based interior planning and design platform, raised $11.1 million (13 billion won) in a Series B funding. Hanwha Hotel & Resort led the round.

- AnChain.AI, a Milpitas, Calif.-based blockchain security company, raised $10 million in funding. SIG Asia Investments led the round and was joined by investors including Fin VC, Nima Capital, Amino Capital, and Hard Yaka.

- Sastrify, a German Saas marketplace company, raised $7 million in seed funding. HV Capital led the round.

- Stonehenge Technology Labs, a Bentonville, Ark.-based company with a data platform for consumer packaged goods companies, raised $2 million in seed funding. Irish Angels led the round and was joined by investors including Bread and Butter Ventures, Gaingels, Angeles Investors, Bonfire Ventures, and Red Tail Venture Capital.

PRIVATE EQUITY

- Altos Partners acquired Allied Underground, a Bertram, Texas-based construction company. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

- Blackstone invested in DECA Dental Group, a Dallas-based dental services company. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

- Charter Health Care Group, backed by Pharos Capital Group, acquired Genesis HospiceCare and Saints Hospice, two hospice providers in Texas. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

- KKR acquired Ritchies Transport Limited, a New Zealand-based transportation operator. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

- Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board  acquired a majority stake in Acorn Health, a Coral Gables, Fla.-based provider of behavioral therapy for children diagnosed with autism. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

- The Riverside Company acquired Craynon Fire Protection, a Dayton, Oh.-based provider of fire and life safety systems. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

EXIT

- Zebra Technologies (NASDAQ: ZBRA) plans to acquire antuit.ai, a provider of artificial intelligence software for consumer packaged goods companies, from Goldman Sachs Asset Management. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

OTHER

- Baxter International (NYSE: BAX) is in talks to acquire Hill-Rom Holdings (NYSE: HRC), a Chicago-based medical equipment maker, for about $10 billion, per the Wall Street Journal.

- ION's Castor Bidco boosted its bid to acquire Cerved, an Italian credit data company, by 7% to €2 billion ($2.35 billion).

- Ideanomics (NASDAQ: IDEX) acquired VIA Motors, an Orem, Ut.-based electric vehicle company, in a deal valued up to $630 million.

IPOS

- Rivian Automotive, a maker of electric pickups backed by Amazon, filed for an IPO. It could seek a valuation of $80 billion, per Bloomberg.

- Sovos Brands, a Louisville, Colo.-based provider of noosa yoghurt and Rao’s pasta sauces, filed for an IPO. Advent backs the firm.

- Olaplex, a Santa Barbara, Calif.-based maker of hair care products, filed for an IPO. Advent backs the firm. 

- Toast, a Boston-based restaurant payments platform, filed for an IPO. Bessemer Venture Partners, T. Rowe Price, and TCV back the firm. 

- Freshworks, a San Mateo, Calif.-based maker of a Salesforce competitor, filed for an IPO. Accel India, CapitalG, and Tiger Global back the firm.

F+FS

- Sixth Street, a New York City-based private market investor, is seeking $3 billion for a growth fund, per Bloomberg.

- Trimble, a Sunnyvale, Calif.-based software company,  launched a $200 million venture fund. 

PEOPLE

- IVP, a Menlo Park, Calif.-based later-stage investor, added Shreyas Garg and Joanne Shang as investors. Both previously worked at Morgan Stanley.

About the Author
Lucinda Shen
By Lucinda Shen
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Newsletters

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Newsletters

Businesswoman working at desk with laptop and documents in office
NewslettersCFO Daily
Finance teams can’t quit Excel. Workday wants to change that with AI
By Sheryl EstradaJune 10, 2026
5 hours ago
Health care’s AI dividend is real. The fight now is over who reaps the gains
NewslettersCEO Daily
Health care’s AI dividend is real. The fight now is over who reaps the gains
By Diane BradyJune 10, 2026
8 hours ago
JB Straubel, co-founder of Tesla and founder and CEO of Redwood Materials, speaking at Fortune Brainstorm Tech 2026 in Aspen, Colorado. (Photo: Michael Faas/Fortune)
NewslettersFortune Tech
Why China is outpacing the U.S. power grid
By Andrew NuscaJune 10, 2026
9 hours ago
Trump speaking into a mic.
NewslettersEye on AI
Should Americans get an equity stake in AI? Trump and progressive Democrats float public ownership of AI
By Beatrice NolanJune 9, 2026
22 hours ago
Meet the Walmart exec who runs a $96 billion business that would sit between Tesla and Target on the Fortune 500
NewslettersMPW Daily
Meet the Walmart exec who runs a $96 billion business that would sit between Tesla and Target on the Fortune 500
By Emma HinchliffeJune 9, 2026
1 day ago
Exclusive: The startup that’s dressing up crypto for Wall Street raises $175 million in a round led by a16z crypto, Paradigm, and Ribbit Capital
NewslettersTerm Sheet
Exclusive: The startup that’s dressing up crypto for Wall Street raises $175 million in a round led by a16z crypto, Paradigm, and Ribbit Capital
By Ben WeissJune 9, 2026
1 day ago

Most Popular

Pentagon accuses Alibaba, Baidu and BYD, three of China's biggest companies, of supporting the Chinese military
Asia
Pentagon accuses Alibaba, Baidu and BYD, three of China's biggest companies, of supporting the Chinese military
By Kate O'Keeffe and BloombergJune 8, 2026
2 days ago
'We are rapidly running out of time': Watchdog sounds Social Security alarm after 22% cut confirmed for 2032
Economy
'We are rapidly running out of time': Watchdog sounds Social Security alarm after 22% cut confirmed for 2032
By Nick LichtenbergJune 9, 2026
1 day ago
Costco CEO Ron Vachris rose from forklift driver to the C-suite without a college degree: ‘Don’t chase a title’ is the career advice that got him there
Success
Costco CEO Ron Vachris rose from forklift driver to the C-suite without a college degree: ‘Don’t chase a title’ is the career advice that got him there
By Preston ForeJune 8, 2026
2 days ago
Current price of oil as of June 9, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of June 9, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 9, 2026
1 day ago
Current price of silver as of Tuesday, June 9, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of silver as of Tuesday, June 9, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 9, 2026
1 day ago
Wall Street dumped nearly $1 trillion in tech stocks by midday—then clawed it back and bought peanut butter and paint
Investing
Wall Street dumped nearly $1 trillion in tech stocks by midday—then clawed it back and bought peanut butter and paint
By Eva RoytburgJune 9, 2026
19 hours ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.