Masimo Partners with Qualcomm to Develop Next-Generation Smartwatch Reference Platform for Original Equipment Manufacturers

September 14, 2024

Comprehensive Platform Combines Masimo’s Industry-leading Biosensing Capabilities with Snapdragon Wearable Platforms to Expand the Wear OS by Google™ Ecosystem

Masimo (NASDAQ: MASI), a leading global medical innovator, and Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. , whose Snapdragon ® branded platforms power extraordinary consumer experiences, today announced that Masimo is partnering with Qualcomm Technologies to develop a next-generation smartwatch reference platform for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) building Wear OS by Google smartwatches. The powerhouse combination of Masimo’s clinically proven, breakthrough biosensing technologies – based on its decades of expertise designing industry-leading hospital monitoring solutions – and best-in-class Snapdragon wearable platforms will help scale the wearable ecosystem. Forging the future of wearable devices, the reference platform will allow OEMs to more efficiently build and bring high-performing, premium smartwatches to market. The platform will also benefit from a robust suite of Masimo health and wellness tracking tools that consumers can trust to provide accurate, reliable data; it will use exclusively high-performance and ultra-low power system-on-a-chips (SoCs) alongside industry-leading wireless and cellular communications from Qualcomm Technologies to enable a superior connectivity experience.

Qualcomm Technologies and Masimo (Photo: Business Wire)

Qualcomm Technologies and Masimo (Photo: Business Wire)

Joe Kiani, Founder and CEO of Masimo, said, “We’re thrilled to be able to partner with Qualcomm Technologies, to whom we naturally turned to supply the chips in our own forthcoming Masimo Freedom™ wearable, to craft a truly remarkable reference platform. It’s a platform driven by the belief that when key smartwatch components are supplied by the leading experts in their field, the harmonious whole produces something even greater than the sum of those excellent parts. In short, Qualcomm Technologies and Masimo engineers are working together to optimize the ‘guts’ of the smartwatch. Masimo’s ability to craft precision monitoring technologies and advanced signal processing algorithms, combined with meticulously engineered, high-performing, low-power Snapdragon systems, is a compelling foundation. We expect this new wearable platform to supercharge smartwatch OEMs’ abilities to create competitive, desirable smartwatches for consumers everywhere. I look forward to partnering with a company as well known for its commitment to innovation as Masimo.”

Dino Bekis, Vice President and General Manager, Wearables and Mixed Signal Solutions at Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., said, “Beginning with Snapdragon W5+ Gen 1, this collaboration will significantly broaden the range of smartwatch choices for consumers and further enhance the already exceptional Wear OS experience. With these reference designs, OEMs will benefit from robust, production-ready designs, incorporating Masimo’s state-of-the-art biosensing technology and Qualcomm Technologies’ leading Snapdragon wearable platforms. It will ultimately enable them to seamlessly bring their smartwatches to market rapidly and at scale.”

OEMs who adopt the new reference platform will continue to design and produce their new smartwatches’ physical exteriors and have creative control over the appearance of the user interface. The devices’ interiors, including Snapdragon wearable platforms and Masimo biosensors, will be designed, provided, and tested by Masimo to ensure premium performance and an unmatched user experience. Health and wellness capabilities will feature the same biosensing innovations and analytics that power Masimo W1 ® and forthcoming Masimo Freedom – technology based on Masimo’s clinically proven, industry-leading Signal Extraction Technology ® (SET ® ). The Masimo reference platform will make all of these components, features, and benefits available for Wear OS smartwatch manufacturers in an easy-to-implement, standardized package.

Snapdragon is a trademark or registered trademark of Qualcomm Incorporated. Snapdragon is a product of Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries.

Wear OS by Google is a trademark of Google LLC.

@Masimo | #Masimo

About Masimo

Masimo (NASDAQ: MASI) is a global medical technology company that develops and produces a wide array of industry-leading monitoring technologies, including innovative measurements, sensors, patient monitors, and automation and connectivity solutions. In addition, Masimo Consumer Audio is home to eight legendary audio brands, including Bowers & Wilkins, Denon, Marantz, and Polk Audio. Our mission is to improve life, improve patient outcomes, and reduce the cost of care. Masimo SET ® Measure-through Motion and Low Perfusion™ pulse oximetry, introduced in 1995, has been shown in over 100 independent and objective studies to outperform other pulse oximetry technologies. 1 Masimo SET ® has also been shown to help clinicians reduce severe retinopathy of prematurity in neonates, 2 improve CCHD screening in newborns, 3 and, when used for continuous monitoring with Masimo Patient SafetyNet™ in post-surgical wards, reduce rapid response team activations, ICU transfers, and costs. 4-5 Masimo SET ® is estimated to be used on more than 200 million patients in leading hospitals and other healthcare settings around the world, 6 and is the primary pulse oximetry at all 10 top U.S. hospitals as ranked in the 2024 Newsweek World’s Best Hospitals listing. 7 In 2005, Masimo introduced rainbow ® Pulse CO-Oximetry technology, allowing noninvasive and continuous monitoring of blood constituents that previously could only be measured invasively, including total hemoglobin (SpHb ® ), oxygen content (SpOC™), carboxyhemoglobin (SpCO ® ), methemoglobin (SpMet ® ), Pleth Variability Index (PVi ® ), RPVi™ (rainbow ® PVi), and Oxygen Reserve Index (ORi™). In 2013, Masimo introduced the Root ® Patient Monitoring and Connectivity Platform, built from the ground up to be as flexible and expandable as possible to facilitate the addition of other Masimo and third-party monitoring technologies; key Masimo additions include Next Generation SedLine ® Brain Function Monitoring, O3 ® Regional Oximetry, and ISA™ Capnography with NomoLine ® sampling lines. Masimo’s family of continuous and spot-check monitoring Pulse CO-Oximeters ® includes devices designed for use in a variety of clinical and non-clinical scenarios, including tetherless, wearable technology, such as Radius-7 ® , Radius PPG ® , and Radius VSM™, portable devices like Rad-67 ® , fingertip pulse oximeters like MightySat ® Rx, and devices available for use both in the hospital and at home, such as Rad-97 ® and the Masimo W1 ® Medical Watch. Masimo hospital and home automation and connectivity solutions are centered around the Masimo Hospital Automation™ platform, and include Iris ® Gateway, iSirona™, Patient SafetyNet, Replica ® , Halo ION ® , UniView ® , UniView :60™, and Masimo SafetyNet ® . Its growing portfolio of health and wellness solutions includes Radius Tº ® and Masimo W1 Sport. Additional information about Masimo and its products may be found at www.masimo.com . Published clinical studies on Masimo products can be found at www.masimo.com/evidence/featured-studies/feature/ .

References

  1. Published clinical studies on pulse oximetry and the benefits of Masimo SET ® can be found on our website . Comparative studies include independent and objective studies which are comprised of abstracts presented at scientific meetings and peer-reviewed journal articles.
  2. Castillo A et al. Prevention of Retinopathy of Prematurity in Preterm Infants through Changes in Clinical Practice and SpO 2 Technology. Acta Paediatr. 2011 Feb;100(2):188-92.
  3. de-Wahl Granelli A et al. Impact of pulse oximetry screening on the detection of duct dependent congenital heart disease: a Swedish prospective screening study in 39,821 newborns. BMJ. 2009;Jan 8;338.
  4. McGrath S et al. Surveillance Monitoring Management for General Care Units: Strategy, Design, and Implementation. The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety . 2016 Jul;42(7):293-302.
  5. McGrath S et al. Inpatient Respiratory Arrest Associated With Sedative and Analgesic Medications: Impact of Continuous Monitoring on Patient Mortality and Severe Morbidity. J Patient Saf. 2020 14 Mar.
  6. Estimate: Masimo data on file.
  7. https://www.newsweek.com/rankings/worlds-best-hospitals-2024/united-states

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes forward-looking statements as defined in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, in connection with the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include, among others, statements regarding the future development, efficiency, potential performance and adoption of the new Masimo reference platform (the “Platform”) and Masimo’s collaboration with Qualcomm. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations about future events affecting us and are subject to risks and uncertainties, all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond our control and could cause our actual results to differ materially and adversely from those expressed in our forward-looking statements as a result of various risk factors, including, but not limited to: risks related to our belief that Masimo's unique noninvasive measurement technologies, including the Platform, contribute to accurate, reliable data; risks related to our belief that Masimo noninvasive medical breakthroughs provide cost-effective solutions and unique advantages; risks related to the assumption that the Platform will be available for integration into future OEM smartwatches; risks related to our belief that the Platform and OEMs will benefit from the collaboration with Qualcomm; risks related to COVID-19; as well as other factors discussed in the "Risk Factors" section of our most recent reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), which may be obtained for free at the SEC's website at www.sec.gov . Although we believe that the expectations reflected in our forward-looking statements are reasonable, we do not know whether our expectations will prove correct. All forward-looking statements included in this press release are expressly qualified in their entirety by the foregoing cautionary statements. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of today's date. We do not undertake any obligation to update, amend or clarify these statements or the "Risk Factors" contained in our most recent reports filed with the SEC, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under the applicable securities laws.

Masimo
Evan Lamb
949-396-3376
elamb@masimo.com

Source: Masimo