Studio 9+ hatches its Awear context-aware software for wearable computing

Peter Relan’s Studio 9+ startup accelerator has revealed its latest company, Awear, which is making software for wearable computing applications.

Above: Awear can deliver the information that you need when you need it on a wearable device like a Pebble smartwatch.

Image Credit: Awear

Awear can deliver the information you need when you need it on a wearable device like a Pebble smartwatch. The San Francisco startup is creating a developer platform and a user app that makes wearable computers, such as smartwatches, more context aware so they deliver the right information at the right time, Relan told VentureBeat in an interview.

The startup was founded by Jakob Wilkenson, the founding engineering lead and first employee at OpenFeint, which was started by Relan’s earlier incubator, YouWeb. After Japan’s mobile social gaming firm Gree acquired  OpenFeint in 2011, Wilkenson stayed with Gree for two years before joining Studio 9+ and founding Awear. OpenFeint, a mobile social game platform, had more than 20,000 developers using it.

The Awear platform will have a multi-tier architecture where it makes the right information appear on a smart device and then taps software and data in the cloud. It will enable numerous apps to run on new wearable devices.

“There will be a single sign-on experience for a consumer,” Wilkenson said. “You can view things like an Uber app that tells you when your Uber car is coming.”

He added, “Wearables are going to be huge. The applications on them have a lot of potential. We want to have applications that constantly add value to the user.”

“You get quick access, so you don’t have to whip out your smartphone so much,” Relan said.

Google is doing similar things with its Google Now software, which pushes information to you at the right time so you can be on time for your Google Calendar appointments. Awear says the delivery of the information has to happen on-demand, and the platform must predict what the user will need next.

Above: Jakob Wilkenson of Awear

Image Credit: Awear

“There are very few people in the world who know how to build developer ecosystems. Jakob has done it,” Relan said.

Wilkenson said the consumer app and developer platform will be available early next year.

He said the wearable market today reminds him of the smartphone market before 2007, when the Apple iPhone created a whole wave of innovation. 

“By adding context awareness to all wearable devices, we are going to unlock their power and open a new wave of opportunities for consumers and developers alike,” Wilkenson said.