i'm Watch bet on being first — and ran out of money before Apple arrived

i'm S.p.A., a Vicenza startup founded by Manuel Zanella and Massimiliano Bertolini with backing from Ennio Doris, patron of Banca Mediolanum, launched one of the world's first Android smartwatches in 2012 at a base price of €350. Days after launch it announced 10,000 online preorders from 102 countries and projected sales of 50,000 units that year — €12 million in revenue.

The industrial plan missed by a country. In 2013, sales reached just €4.2 million against losses just under €4 million. The watch was bulkier and less capable than what the giants were preparing, and the startup had neither the distribution nor the balance sheet to wait for the market to mature.

Unable to compete with what it called the 'extraordinary financial and technological power' of the multinationals, i'm stopped selling the Watch from 1 October 2014 and went into voluntary liquidation. Italy's smartwatch pioneer lasted two years — and never saw the Apple Watch, which arrived six months after it was gone.