Silicon Valley venture capitalist Vinod Khosla is backing AliveCor, a startup specializing in heart-monitoring technology, in a protracted legal battle against tech giant Apple. AliveCor alleges that Apple stole its heart monitoring technology and stifled its capacity to offer its services on the popular Apple Watch platform. Describing Apple, Khosla said, “I think it’s really important that they not bully people and so we decided to make it a public battle.”
Bloomberg reports that Vinod Khosla, a legendary Silicon Valley venture capitalist, is supporting heart monitoring tech startup AliveCor in a protracted legal dispute with technology behemoth Apple. According to AliveCor, Apple stole its technology and prevented it from being able to sell its product on the popular Apple Watch platform.
Apple CEO Tim Cook poses for a goofy selfie ( Justin Sullivan/Getty)
A decade ago, Khosla’s company made an investment in AliveCor, a producer of cardiac monitoring devices with FDA approval, with an eye toward the potential growth in the personal health and fitness industry.
Millions of Apple Watch users worldwide are unable to access AliveCor’s technology as a result of the legal dispute with Apple. The startup has been engaged in a three-year battle to show that Apple plagiarized its heart-monitoring technology.
“We made it a battle because we can,” Khosla told Bloomberg News. “I think it’s really important that they not bully people and so we decided to make it a public battle.”
The conflict began in 2015, according to AliveCor, when David Albert, one of the company’s co-founders, allegedly accepted an invitation from Apple executives to showcase the KardiaBand, a heart-monitoring device. The startup claims that after Apple indicated a desire to work together, it quickly unveiled its own heart health program for the Apple Watch.
AliveCor’s antitrust complaint from two years ago claims that “no other service was allowed to offer heart-rate monitoring on the device because of [Apple’s] concentrated campaign to corner the market.”
Apple disputes these claims and maintains that it is innocent of all charges. “We deeply respect intellectual property and innovation and do not take or use confidential information from other companies,” Apple said in a statement. The business stressed its support for scientific and medical advancements in defending its interactions with smaller businesses and institutions.
Despite the ongoing legal dispute, AliveCor CEO Priya Abani says the business is “thriving.” She claims that the business has made 2.5 million sales of devices, provides a subscription service, and has received regulatory approval in 42 nations.
“We have to fight for our rights,” Abani said. “Because if we let this one go, what is to say the next thing we innovate, they’re not going to come and grab that?”
Khosla Ventures continues to be one of AliveCor’s most important investors, taking part in five of the startup’s six financing rounds and contributing close to $154 million in funding. If AliveCor prevails in the legal dispute, it could potentially change the pattern of smaller startups losing to Apple in court cases.
Read more at Bloomberg here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan