How bad was the overheating problem?

Some users reported second-degree burns on their wrists from wearing the device during what should have been normal use — exercise and everyday wear. Intel initially issued a voluntary recall in June 2016 asking users to stop wearing the device. By December 2016, it had decided the problem was not fixable and shut down all supporting infrastructure, effectively making every Basis Peak permanently non-functional.

Why did Intel shut down the servers rather than fixing the hardware?

A full hardware recall and replacement programme for tens of thousands of devices is extremely expensive — typically more than the revenue the product ever generated. Intel calculated that the fix cost exceeded the product's strategic value. The decision was economically rational but commercially and reputationally damaging.

Did Intel ever succeed in consumer wearables after Basis?

No. The Basis failure effectively ended Intel's consumer wearable strategy. Intel shifted its focus to enterprise and industrial IoT applications. The consumer wearable market was eventually dominated by Apple Watch, Fitbit, and Samsung.

← All autopsies

// HALL OF FLAME · STARTUP AUTOPSY

Founded	2011
Closed	2016
Country	USA
Sector	Healthtech
Total raised	100
Collapse type	Silent Shutdown
Founder	Jef Holove

Basis Peak (Intel)

"Intel's $100M health tracker acquisition that ended with customer skin burns and a mandatory recall"

$100M

RAISED

—

EMPLOYEES

MONTHS

founder chaosSilent Shutdown

Quiet closure with no public announcement

// Fatal mistake: Critical overheating defect in the Basis Peak that caused skin burns triggered a full product recall, and Intel chose to shut down the product entirely rather than absorb the cost of a hardware fix.

Key Events Timeline

2011-01

FOUNDING

Basis Peak (Intel) founded

2013-06

CEO CHANGE

Leadership crisis or CEO change

2016-06

SHUTDOWN

Silent Shutdown: Basis Peak (Intel) ceases operations

🔥 Hall of Flame 55%🏆 Hall of Fame 42%

Basis Science built one of the most advanced consumer health trackers of its era — the Basis B1 and then the Basis Peak, which measured heart rate continuously through optical sensors, tracked sleep stages, and monitored skin temperature and perspiration in a form factor that actually looked like a watch.

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// THE HEALTHTECH GRAVEYARD DOESN'T END HERE

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