Pebble shuts down, sells to rival Fitbit

SAN FRANCISCO — Pebble Technology Corp., one of the first companies to manufacture smartwatches, said it will shut down and sell its software and intellectual property to Fitbit Inc., which also plans to hire some of Pebble’s “key personnel.”

“Due to various factors, Pebble is no longer able to operate as an independent entity,” Pebble founder Eric Migicovsky said in a blog published Wednesday on the California company’s website. “We have made the tough decision to shut down the company and no longer manufacture Pebble devices.”

Migicovsky did not explain why Pebble could no longer operate independently, and the company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

As part of the shutdown, Pebble will stop selling and promoting its line of smartwatches. Pebble watches already out in the world will continue to work “as normal,” but “functionality or service quality may be reduced in the future,” Migicovsky said.

Those who helped fund the watch on crowdfunding platform Kickstarter who have not yet received their backer rewards are to receive full refunds.

Fitbit, the publicly traded fitness tracker firm, confirmed it will snap up Pebble’s “key personnel and intellectual property related to software and firmware development,” but the acquisition excludes hardware.

Pebble attracted a loyal following of early adopters, but it struggled to crack the mainstream market.