Baby tech company Owlet cut spending in the second half of the year by making new submissions to the FDA, touting the moves as steps toward profitability.
The company reported revenue of $69.2 million in 2022, compared to $75.8 million in 2021. Operating expenses were $107.9 million last year, compared to $90.9 million in 2021.
But Owlet said the increase was largely due to the launch of its Dream Sock wearable sleep monitoring devices earlier this year. In the second half of 2022, the company cut marketing expenses, laid off employees and cut other expenses that it says will position it to be profitable in 2023.
Owlet posted a net loss of $79.3 million last year, compared to $71.7 million in 2021.
In the fourth quarter, the baby tech company reported revenue of about $12 million and a net loss of $19.5 million. Operating expenses were $24.1 million in the fourth quarter last year, compared to $27.3 million in the same period last year.
“I recognize that our confidence in our business is in conflict with our reported financial results in 2022 due to the efforts needed to rebuild our business,” CEO and co-founder Kurt Workman said on a conference call. “[…] Throughout 2022, we’ve made tremendous progress positioning Owlet for sustainable, profitable growth in 2023 and beyond. We rebuilt our brand health, rebased our operating expenses, focused on rebuilding channel health, and made significant progress toward regulatory approval for our medical device and de novo product applications. . »
Workman said the Owlet will continue to cut costs in the first half. The company now employs less than 100 people compared to 227 last year.
He added that Owlet filed an FDA 510(k) application for an infant prescription monitoring device in October. The device, which the company internally calls BabySat, aims to alert parents when their baby’s heart rate or blood oxygen saturation falls outside a prescribed range.
In December, the company submitted an over-the-counter product to the FDA that provides heart rate and oxygen notifications in addition to Dream Sock’s sleep monitoring tools.
“The most significant accomplishments for the future of Owlet’s digital healthcare are the work we’ve done to obtain regulatory approvals for our products in 2022,” Workman said. “As stated in previous calls, we believe in making the highest quality care available for every baby by democratizing access to technology and information that was previously limited to clinical settings.”
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Owlet made public in 2021 after merging with an ad hoc acquisition company. Later that year, the company pulled its Smart Sock smart wearables from the market after receiving a FDA warning letter. The agency said Owlet is marketing the products as “diagnostic” tools, which would require 510(k) clearance.
Last month, Owlet announced that it had raised $30 million in private placement financing.