Post-mortem. Jawbone closed in June 2017. The account below was written after the end, with the outcome known. Separately, a blind test with the evidence cut off at December 2015, before the end, returned: not called safe. How the blind test works.

Jawbone

Jawbone made Bluetooth headsets and fitness trackers, then went bankrupt in 2017

Blind testEvidence cut off December 2015 · Ended June 2017 · Result: not called safe

What happened

Liquidation of Jawbone/AliphCom via assignment for benefit of creditors (June 2017)

Why it did not hold

Jawbone had early share in two hot hardware categories and no way to keep it once Apple and Fitbit showed up; it liquidated in 2017.

Jawbone made wireless headsets and fitness trackers in the early 2010s and was briefly a market leader. It was easy to copy because the company had no special advantage beyond being first, and Apple and Fitbit simply built better versions and took over the market. The patents Jawbone owned did not stop Fitbit from winning in court. The company ran out of money in 2017 despite raising over 900 million dollars, so it shut down completely; whether its successor company All.health will survive depends on an ongoing lawsuit about fraud that has shown no signs of progress or new funding since 2023.

AI pressure: None apparent. Jawbone died in 2017 before AI products existed in this category; not a factor in its collapse.

Bigger players: Apple and Fitbit. Apple Watch and AirPods plus Fitbit's trackers took the categories Jawbone helped build, and Fitbit beat it at the ITC in 2016.

What protected it. None. Patents, funding, and early share did not stop the collapse; there is nothing left to protect.

Timeline

2023-01Investor sues All.health, Hosain Rahman and Michael Luna for fraud and breach of contract
2019-05Successor Jawbone Health Hub raises $65.4 million per SEC filing
2018Jawbone fitness trackers pulled from retail shelves
2017-07AliphCom (Jawbone) liquidated via assignment for benefit of creditors
2016-08Jawbone loses ITC trade-secret case against Fitbit
2016Jawbone raises roughly $165 million in last-ditch funding
2015-11Jawbone lays off 15% of global workforce, closes New York office
2015BlackRock and Rizvi Traverse $300 million debt facility cuts valuation below $2 billion
2014Jawbone reaches peak valuation of roughly $3.2 to $3.3 billion
2011Jawbone holds roughly 35% share of the Bluetooth headset market

Also gone

Chegg closed 2026 Course Hero closed 2026 One Hour Translation / Blend was absorbed 2026

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This page is a post-mortem, not a live assessment, and it carries no band. The blind-test result is the only part made without knowledge of the outcome.