Tile, Whose Location Trackers Were A Thing Before Apple Unveiled AirTags, Gets Acquired By Life360

Manufacturer of location trackers and foremost of $Apple (AAPL.US)$ critics, Tile Inc, has been acquired by San Francisco-based $LIFE360 INC. NPV CDI 3:1 (LIFX.US)$

What Happened: Life360 announced in a statement released Monday that the deal to acquire Tile is valued at $205 million and expected to close in the first quarter of 2022.

After the deal is closed, Tile would continue to operate under its own identity and continue to be led by CEO CJ Prober, who would join the Life360 board of directors. The tile team is expected to stay in place.

Why It Matters: Tile has criticized the Tim Cook-led tech giant on more than one occasion, accusing the latter of anti-competitive behavior.

Tile forged a partnership with $Amazon (AMZN.US)$ this summer, which would allow Amazon Echo and Ring devices to extend Tile’s network coverage through its Sidewalk Bluetooth network.

Apple, which sold Tile’s products in its Apple Stores previously began to distance itself from the former as it began readying its own rival tracking product, reported Reuters, citing congressional testimony from Tile executives.

The executives said that Apple made technical changes that made it difficult to pair Tile products with iPhones.