Breathometer was a device that claimed to measure someone's

blood alcohol content Blood alcohol content (BAC), also called blood alcohol concentration or blood alcohol level, is a measurement of alcohol intoxication used for legal or medical purposes; it is expressed as mass of alcohol per volume or mass of blood. For example ...

using their

iOS iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also include ...

and Android smartphones. However, the app proved unreliable, and was shut down by the Federal Trade Commission. Breathometer was founded in September 2013 by Charles Michael Yim, who is the company's current CEO.

Company history

Breathometer was founded in 2012 by Charles Michael Yim, a

serial entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values th ...

who had earlier founded three startup companies including Chatterfly, a mobile loyalty platform for businesses that was acquired by Plum District in December 2011. Yim noted that there were no commercial breathalyzers for the smartphone market, and the only portable breathalyzers commercially available were both expensive and impractical for users to take with them on a night out. The company was partly funded through preorders collected via an Indiegogo crowd-sourcing campaign, which ran until April 2013. The campaign's original goal was to raise $25,000, but by the time it closed, it had raised over $138,000. In September 2013, Yim appeared on '' Shark Tank''. He originally asked for $250,000 for a 10% stake in Breathometer, but all five "sharks" ended up investing a total of $1 million for a collective 30% stake in the company.

Controversy

FTC complaint and product refunds

In 2017, an inquiry by the FTC resulted in a settlement with the company. The FTC charged that the company knew the product frequently underreported

BAC BAC or Bac may refer to: Places * Bac, Rožaje, Bac, a village in Montenegro * Baile Átha Cliath, Irish language name for Dublin city. * Bîc River, aka ''Bâc River'', a Moldovan river * Baç Bridge, bridge in Turkey * Barnes County Municipal A ...

levels and knowingly made false marketing claims of accuracy. The app was shut down and customers were required to be notified and offered full refunds. According to the complaint, sales of Original and Breeze totaled $5.1 million. Following the FTC controversy,

Mark Cuban Mark Cuban (born July 31, 1958) is an American billionaire entrepreneur, television personality, and media proprietor whose net worth is an estimated $4.8 billion, according to ''Forbes'', and ranked No. 177 on the 2020 ''Forbes'' 400 list ...

called Breathometer the "worst execution" in the history of ''Shark Tank'', blaming the founder's mismanagement of funds.

Products

The Breathometer

The Breathometer was a small device that plugged into the

audio jack A phone connector, also known as phone jack, audio jack, headphone jack or jack plug, is a family of electrical connectors typically used for analog audio signals. A plug, the male connector, is inserted into the jack, the female connecto ...

of a

smartphone A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, whic ...

, coupled with a dedicated app that reads the user's

(BAC). The app utilized the smartphone to provide the processing power, which allowed the device to be small enough to fit on a standard keychain. If the user's BAC level was over the legal limit, the app displayed one-click calls to local taxi services, friends from contact lists living close by, or local hotels. Sample beta units were handed out at the 2013 SXSW in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

. The app was shut down in 2017 as the result of a settlement with the FTC.

Mint

The company pivoted transforming its technology into a new product to measure bad breath and oral health, called Mint. Breathometer released the Mint in September 2016. Sensors in the device measured sulfur compounds associated with bad breath and that scientists associate with

periodontitis Periodontal disease, also known as gum disease, is a set of inflammatory conditions affecting the tissues surrounding the teeth. In its early stage, called gingivitis, the gums become swollen and red and may bleed. It is considered the main cau ...

aka gum disease. The company partnered with Philips to bundle the Mint with Sonicare oral health products. As of 2021, the Mint is no longer available on its site or Amazon.

References

External links

* {{Shark Tank , state=collapsed Alcohol Alcohol law Mobile phones Wireless Breathalyzer