The top 10 hotspots for wearable electronics innovation

Analysts from Lux Research have ranked the global hotspots for wearable electronics innovation based on three broad criteria: research and development, funding and adoption. The results are as follows:

1. United States
2. Switzerland
3. United Kingdom
4. China
5. Canada
6. Australia
7. South Korea
8. Israel
9. Japan
10. Singapore

The US was found to be dominant in all aspects of wearables innovation, with its most significant strength being in government grants and accelerators. The country has five accelerators dedicated to development of wearables and a dozen government grants to support wearables for health, safety and communication.

Switzerland ranks second on the strength of its ability to leverage its historic strength in watchmaking to work on novel smart watches. The third-ranked UK, on the other hand, stands out for its diverse pool of institutions, companies and organisations developing wearable technologies in applications including disease management, military operations, employee wellness and fashion.

China, ranked fourth, lacks as many start-ups as the US, but its start-ups receive the most venture capital on average led by Codoon, ANTVR, Beijing Baofeng Mojing Technology and Huami, each of which has received over $35 million.

Finally, report author Noa Ghersin noted that a number of countries have emerged with varying degrees of specialisations, looking to “become leaders in the development of specific wearable form factors or applications”.

“Canada, for example, dominates smart textiles, and Australia focuses on sports,” she said.

The report can be found here.