Android Creator Puts Essential Up for Sale, Cancels Next Phone
- Company cancels development of second version of smartphone
- Startup has spent over $100 million on product development
Essential Products Inc., a startup co-founded by Android creator Andy Rubin that launched last year to great fanfare, is considering selling itself and has canceled development of a new smartphone, according to people familiar with the matter.
The startup has hired Credit Suisse Group AG to advise on a potential sale and has received interest from at least one suitor, the people said. Essential is now actively shopping itself to potential suitors, one of the people said. The startup, part of Rubin’s incubator Playground Global, has raised about $300 million from several investors, including Amazon.com Inc., Tencent Holdings Ltd., and Redpoint Ventures. It was valued at $900 million to $1 billion about a year ago, according to an analysis by Equidate, which runs a market for private company stock.