Wink has confirmed that it has been acquired by Will.i.am-backed i.am+. Wink is mainly known for its smart home hub products, which were originally a product of now-defunct Quirky. Eventually, Flex bought out Quirky and acquired Wink’s products in the process, but now it appears Wink is moving once again, this time to i.am+, a California based company known mainly for its premium earphones.
The deal, which has been announced by Wink via a memo to its users, is for an undisclosed sum. Currently, both companies are staying quiet when it comes to details or possible future products, though Wink did state that they are “excited about the future and look forward to sharing more in the coming months.” Considering the history i.am+ has with music thanks to the pair of BUTTONS earphones it released last year, not to mention its backer Will.i.am, it wouldn’t be surprising to see a new collaboration between the companies. After all, by using the technology inside Wink’s home hub products, a new music-focused smart speaker would certainly not be impossible, and it would also allow the company to better compete with the likes of Amazon’s Echo. Wink did confirm that both companies are currently working together in order to shape their roadmaps, meaning a collaboration is certainly on the cards between the two. Considering Wink’s products are currently manufactured by Flex, it’s also possible that i.am+ will work to maintain this deal in order to produce future products from the company, as well as Wink’s existing ones.
Nonetheless, considering the relatively small size of the Will.i.am-backed company, moving into the home hub market is certainly a smart move, considering the surge in popularity over the past year. It appears i.am+ is focused on music-related products, for now, so it’ll be interesting to see what other products it will be releasing in the future, aside from a possible new smart speaker. Until any new products or changes are announced, though, users of Wink’s products can rest assured that the acquisition changes nothing when it comes to functionality and the company even confirmed that new in-app features and partners will be announced in the near future.