Startup raises funding to take on Apple, build a smartwatch not tied to your phone

Photo credit: Witworks.

Witworks today announced its seed round of funding led by Fireside Ventures, InvestoPad, P39 Capital, and a syndicated group of angel investors.

The funding will be put toward the Bangalore-based startup’s launch of Blink, its smartwatch platform aimed at giving users contextual information and services on the go (think a search engine, GPS, etc.) Blink uses a voice-enabled operating system named Marvin OS, which is based on Android.

Witworks has the opportunity to build its products from scratch.

Founded by IIT-Kharagpur grads Somnath Meher, Ankit DP, and Chandrashekhar Iyer, the company manufactures its products in Shenzhen, China – as so many others do.

The company’s advantage, according to Ankit, comes from how it differs from the Apple Watch, Android Wear, Samsung Gear S2, and Sony’s Smartwatch 3 – it’s not tied to a mobile phone, so instead of replicating the features for a mobile device to be worn on the wrist, Witworks has the opportunity to build its products from scratch.

“Wearables, especially watches, are at a very interesting stage at this point of time. The technology is in place, and there’s enough eagerness amongst consumers. But lack of relevant use-cases, ease of interaction and genuine design-empathy have prevented them from taking off,” said Witworks CEO Somnath in a statement.

To design Blink, the startup has worked closely with traditional watchmakers, added Witworks COO Chandrashekhar.

Its earlier products include Rewind, a US$2.50 earphone detangling accessory. The company claims to have sold around 40,000 Rewinds.

Converted from Indian rupees. US$1 = INR 67.09