Apple acquires Health startup by an Indian duo
In August 2016, Apple bought Gliimpse — a personal data collection health start-up founded in the Silicon Valley in 2013 by an Indian duo. In three years, Gliimpse built a secure and formidable platform for every American across the country to manage and share their medical records and info. The company’s website states that its goal is to create ‘personalized and shareable medical records’ and a product that digitizes any information ranging from glucose numbers to Potassium levels for the patient and their doctors to access.
The company’s aim, according to its website is “You control who sees what and for how long. Share with physicians, gain proxy access to ageing parent’s data, get your kid’s immunizations to the school nurse. Even Donate Your Data (DYD) to help find global cures”.
Apple, sticking to its evergreen tune, has not been specifically vocal about this one, but Apple CEO Tim Cook has talked in detail about Apple making its presence felt in the health industry. In an interview with Fast Company, Cook remarked that the company “has already ventured into the health arena and has started looking for wellness products, and are particularly interested in researched and customized patient care.” Apple is fostering some serious healthcare ambitions.
As mentioned earlier, the acquisition of Gliimpse was secretive. The company just said that it has always been the practice of Apple to acquire smaller technology companies from time to time and they do not discuss their purpose or plans, and in this case, even the amount. Meanwhile, Gliimpse’s website is currently not functioning, and the Linkedin profile of Gliimpse does not mention any such acquisition.
This is not the first time Apple has shown interest in the healthcare segments. With services such as HealthKit, CareKit and ResearchKit that allow patients, clinicians and researchers to access relevant health and wellness data via a range of mobile devices. But Gliimpse is different in the sense that it also targets chronically ill patients like the ones suffering from cancer or diabetes. Tim Cook has publicly mentioned that the non-regulated health sector is a big business opportunity that is still lying untapped. So we guess that’s where Apple is headed.
Healthcare is not the only sector Apple is taking a keen interest in. The company has also started focusing on AI and is particularly thrilled about technologies such as facial recognition. In various interviews, Tim Cook has lauded AI for being the future.
Apple is focused on taking a radical shift from being a manufacturer of consumer electronics to a creator of everyday products using smart technology to simplify lives. We are yet to see what Apple plans to do with Gliimpse but we are sure it is going to be something big.
The company’s aim, according to its website is “You control who sees what and for how long. Share with physicians, gain proxy access to ageing parent’s data, get your kid’s immunizations to the school nurse. Even Donate Your Data (DYD) to help find global cures”.
Apple, sticking to its evergreen tune, has not been specifically vocal about this one, but Apple CEO Tim Cook has talked in detail about Apple making its presence felt in the health industry. In an interview with Fast Company, Cook remarked that the company “has already ventured into the health arena and has started looking for wellness products, and are particularly interested in researched and customized patient care.” Apple is fostering some serious healthcare ambitions.
As mentioned earlier, the acquisition of Gliimpse was secretive. The company just said that it has always been the practice of Apple to acquire smaller technology companies from time to time and they do not discuss their purpose or plans, and in this case, even the amount. Meanwhile, Gliimpse’s website is currently not functioning, and the Linkedin profile of Gliimpse does not mention any such acquisition.
This is not the first time Apple has shown interest in the healthcare segments. With services such as HealthKit, CareKit and ResearchKit that allow patients, clinicians and researchers to access relevant health and wellness data via a range of mobile devices. But Gliimpse is different in the sense that it also targets chronically ill patients like the ones suffering from cancer or diabetes. Tim Cook has publicly mentioned that the non-regulated health sector is a big business opportunity that is still lying untapped. So we guess that’s where Apple is headed.
Healthcare is not the only sector Apple is taking a keen interest in. The company has also started focusing on AI and is particularly thrilled about technologies such as facial recognition. In various interviews, Tim Cook has lauded AI for being the future.
Apple is focused on taking a radical shift from being a manufacturer of consumer electronics to a creator of everyday products using smart technology to simplify lives. We are yet to see what Apple plans to do with Gliimpse but we are sure it is going to be something big.