Fossil Sells Smartwatch IP to Google for $40 Million

Fossil Group will sell IP technology for smartwatches to Google for $40 million, it said Thursday. A portion of Fossil’s R&D team supporting the IP will join Google. A Fossil spokesperson emailed us Google is a longtime partner “and will continue to be." She said of the in-development IP involved, it's "not related to our current smartwatches.” Google in 2014 started Wear OS, for wearables to give people "the information and insights they need quickly, at a glance," a spokesperson emailed us. It continues to be about providing the smartwatch platform a "diverse portfolio of styles and price points," she said.