05.06.15
Taiwanese manufacturer Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. Ltd., better known as Foxconn Technology Group, has been gearing up to join the medical technology world in a big way. As the world’s largest electronics contractor manufacturer and the third-largest information technology company by revenue, the company is a giant by any standard.
The company famously manufactures and assembles Apple’s ubiquitous iPhones, but its large size allows it to have provided services to some of the world’s largest companies, including Google, Amazon, Ace, Dell, Microsoft and Nintendo.
Last year, Foxconn acquired a stake in San Diego, Calif.-based continuous vital signs monitoring company Sotera Wireless Inc. for an undisclosed sum—according to U.S. Securities and Exchange Filings, Sotera had raised $20 million from undisclosed backers last April. Leonard Wu, general manager of Foxconn’s healthcare business group, said the company is now talking with Palo Alto, Calif.-based Varian Medical Systems for the rights to sell radiation-treatment devices in China. Wu also said he expects Foxconn’s medical device business to ramp up from $20 million last year to $200 million in revenue in 2020.
Last year Foxconn injected $5.5 million into smartphone-enabled hearing device company Soundhawk, which doesn’t like to call its devices hearing aids because it doesn’t bill itself as a medical device company.
Foxconn has seen the value in the healthcare arena for some time. In 2011, the company made an undisclosed investment in the smartwatch maker WIMM Labs, which later was bought by Google in 2013. Foxconn helped the technology giant develop its smartwatch strategy. Well before Apple released the Apple Watch, Foxconn released its own smartwatch in 2013, which came equipped with health and fitness sensors. As health becomes more wireless and mobile-based, Foxconn uniquely is situated to harness this new market, with its extensive experience in mobile technology manufacturing and research and development.
The company famously manufactures and assembles Apple’s ubiquitous iPhones, but its large size allows it to have provided services to some of the world’s largest companies, including Google, Amazon, Ace, Dell, Microsoft and Nintendo.
Last year, Foxconn acquired a stake in San Diego, Calif.-based continuous vital signs monitoring company Sotera Wireless Inc. for an undisclosed sum—according to U.S. Securities and Exchange Filings, Sotera had raised $20 million from undisclosed backers last April. Leonard Wu, general manager of Foxconn’s healthcare business group, said the company is now talking with Palo Alto, Calif.-based Varian Medical Systems for the rights to sell radiation-treatment devices in China. Wu also said he expects Foxconn’s medical device business to ramp up from $20 million last year to $200 million in revenue in 2020.
Last year Foxconn injected $5.5 million into smartphone-enabled hearing device company Soundhawk, which doesn’t like to call its devices hearing aids because it doesn’t bill itself as a medical device company.
Foxconn has seen the value in the healthcare arena for some time. In 2011, the company made an undisclosed investment in the smartwatch maker WIMM Labs, which later was bought by Google in 2013. Foxconn helped the technology giant develop its smartwatch strategy. Well before Apple released the Apple Watch, Foxconn released its own smartwatch in 2013, which came equipped with health and fitness sensors. As health becomes more wireless and mobile-based, Foxconn uniquely is situated to harness this new market, with its extensive experience in mobile technology manufacturing and research and development.