Qualcomm sells health division to private equity firm

Qualcomm Life, the health-focused division formed by Qualcomm in 2011, has been acquired by private equity firm Francisco Partners for an undisclosed sum. The company will be renamed as Capsule Technologies, a medical device connectivity firm that Qualcomm acquired in 2015 to expand its efforts in the medical space.

“FP’s acquisition will help Qualcomm Life (now CapsuleTech) continue to deliver market leading products and services to its world class customer base,” Rick Valencia, former president of Qualcomm Life, said in a prepared statement. Valencia will stay on with the new company in an advisory role to help it transition to a standalone business.

Capsule’s medical device connectivity platform is used by more than 2,000 hospitals in about 40 countries to connect medical devices to clinical information systems. The technology helps hospitals capture and visualize clinical data to monitor patient health and improve patient care. The new company will also continue selling 2net, a cloud-based mobile device connectivity platform for device manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies and health insurance payers.

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“Capsule is key enabler of the digital hospital and is a trusted choice among hospital clinicians, IT administrators and healthcare IT vendors,” Chris Adams, partner with Francisco Partners, said in a prepared statement. “As hospitals continue to adopt data-driven approaches to managing patient care, Capsule stands to benefit by serving as a centralized connectivity hub for clinical information. We are excited to partner with Capsule and to help the team capitalize on new innovations in device technology and software applications.”

When Qualcomm established Qualcomm Life in 2011 it earmarked funding of $100 million to “accelerate wireless health services and technology adoption,” and put the subsidiary under the management of Qualcomm Ventures. Much is dependent on the price, but the subsequent sale suggests Qualcomm is refocusing efforts and capital on its core businesses.