PICOOC is raising $20 million for its second round of institutional funding by undisclosed investors; as the round has not closed yet, TechNode reported.
Based in Beijing, PICOOC is a maker of smart body scales that analyzes and records health metrics. The function of the scale is not foreign to the market, but it was the design that brought in the buzz from consumers and media alike: specifically the company's Latin brand scale.
In a September 24, 2013 report, TechNode said PICOOC had come up with a smart hardware for the said scale. Aside from health metrics recording and analysis, Latin also provides health tips. As soon as a user steps on the scale, Latin will record such metrics as weight, body fat, body water, BMI, BMR, muscle mass and others in just a few seconds. This data will then be uploaded to the software called PICOOC Health Measurement System that performs the analysis so that health insights and tips can be given to the user. An app for mobile devices enables a user to read the tips, the report said.
Launched in December last year, Latin is available in the market for CNY 699 or around $116 each. Picooc is also part of Baidu Cloud's hardware platform. Wearables like smart wristband Codoon, smart watch iWatch and others have also been rolled out on the Baidu platform that gives "appcessories" cloud storage and analytics services, the latest TechNode report said.
The September 24 TechNode report said family health is the focus of PICOOC. The company is composed of an international design team even if it is based in Beijing. Its software was originally developed in the US. Some of its parts were made in Japan with the final product finished and shipped in Shenzhen, China. PICOOC Co-Founder and CEO Zhang Rui told TechNode that they are targeting to sell their products in China although they will also be offering these in the West.
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