Pebble Founder Says His New Company is ‘Not a Startup’

Pebble founder Eric Migicovsky relaunches with Core Devices—profit-first, no funding, and calling it “not a startup.”
Matilda
Pebble Founder Says His New Company is ‘Not a Startup’
Pebble Founder Returns—But This Time, It’s Not a Startup What happens when the creator of one of the most beloved smartwatches of all time makes a comeback? If you’re Eric Migicovsky, you ditch the startup playbook entirely. At CES 2026, Migicovsky unveiled his new venture, Core Devices, revealing plans to revive the Pebble smartwatch brand alongside an AI-powered ring—all without outside funding, pre-manufactured inventory, or Silicon Valley hype. In his words: “This is not a startup.” For fans who mourned Pebble’s 2016 demise after its sale to Fitbit (and later Google), this return promises nostalgia with a radically sustainable twist. Credit: Valerie Plesch/Bloomberg/ Getty Images Why “Not a Startup” Matters in 2026 In today’s hardware landscape—dominated by VC-backed moonshots and vaporware promises—Migicovsky’s stance is refreshingly contrarian. Startups chase growth at all costs; Core Devices prioritizes profitability from day one. “We’ve structured this entire business around being…