Apple Acquires Tueo Health, Developer of Asthma Monitoring Application for Children

Recently, VCBeat (WeChat Official Account: vcbeat) learned that Apple has announced the acquisition of Tueo Health. The specific date and financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

It is reported that Tueo Health has completed a total of four rounds of financing. Among them, the company closed a $1.1 million seed round in 2017, led by Launchpad Digital Health. In late 2018, Bronwyn Harris, CEO and co-founder of Tueo Health, and Anura Patil, COO, updated their employer information to Apple on their LinkedIn profiles, suggesting that Apple’s acquisition of the company likely occurred around that time.

Tueo Health, founded in 2015, is a small startup developing a mobile application that uses respiratory sensors to monitor asthma symptoms in children. If a child’s breathing patterns change during the night, the app promptly sends alerts to parents.

Tueo Health states on its corporate website: “Parents of children with asthma know that managing asthma is a challenging process. However, we have developed a digital tool designed to address the daily obstacles faced by children with asthma. Our goal is to help all children with asthma achieve a higher quality of life.”

Apple CEO Tim Cook said, “Apple conducts several such small-scale acquisitions each year, with the aim of acquiring talent and intellectual property.”

In recent years, Apple has been strengthening its focus on health. For instance, the latest version of the Apple Watch can generate electrocardiograms (ECGs) and detect whether users have fallen. It is reported that Apple will announce the latest features of iOS 13 at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference on June 3. As part of the iOS 13 update, Apple is also expected to enhance its Health Records app on the iPhone, with new functionalities including menstrual cycle tracking.

Apple’s Health Records app, launched in January 2018, integrates with electronic health record (EHR) systems across China. As of December 2018, Apple had partnered with more than 75 hospitals, enabling the consolidation of patients’ electronic health records upon obtaining their consent.

It is reported that Apple has also acquired two other healthcare companies: in 2016, Apple acquired Gliimpse, a startup focused on developing technology for aggregating medical records; in 2017, Apple acquired Beddit, a company that produces sleep sensors.

Apple Inc. is a high-tech company in the United States. It was founded on April 1, 1976, by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ron Wayne, among others, with its headquarters located in Cupertino, California. At that time, the company was named Apple Computer, Inc. On January 9, 2007, the company was renamed Apple Inc.

In 2018, Apple Inc. announced updates to its Health Records feature, enabling the app to import and store medical information covering allergies, health conditions, immunizations, laboratory results, medications, medical procedures, and vital signs. This marked Apple’s formal entry into the medical records sector.

(Compiled by Song Chenchen)