Edinburgh start-up taking on Apple Watch raises £200,000 in less than two days
An Edinburgh start-up is gearing up to take on smartwatch industry giants including Apple and Garmin with a new innovative product.
The Una Watch, which is expected to go on sale in August, separates itself from the pack by allowing customers to swap out, replace, and upgrade individual components to extend the smartwatch’s lifespan.
It offers ‘real-time GPS tracking, heart rate monitoring and post-activity insights,’ and is the world’s first modular, fully repairable GPS sports watch.
And unlike some smartwatches that become e-waste when a battery dies or a screen cracks, the Una Watch can be upgraded ‘as easily as a child builds LEGO’ making the Edinburgh company confident it can disrupt the £2 billion industry.
More than 1,000 early adopters from around the world raised over £200,000 in under 48 hours via the company’s Kickstarter campaign – and now the team is pressing ahead with development and production, with advanced discussions with manufacturing partners ongoing.
Lewis Allison, founder and ceo of Una Watch said: “We’ve been blown away by the response – £200,000 in less than two days proves there’s a huge demand for sustainable, repairable wearables.
“Customers are tired of replacing expensive tech every few years. We’re showing the industry there’s a better way. There’s a growing right to repair movement in the electronics industry with companies like Fairphone and Framework leading the way.”
Lewis added: “At Una we want to set an example to larger, more established companies of how tech can and should be built. This backing will supercharge our efforts to achieve it.”
Una Watch previously secured £300,000 in investment from SFC Capital, backers of UK success stories including Fussy and Hope & Glory, as well as winning the top £100,000 prize from Scottish EDGE last year. The company is also developing an ‘Una for developers’ programme, allowing third parties to create custom modules.
For more information you can visit the Una Watch website.