Invented by Charles Michael Yim Company Breathometer Website www.breathometer.com | Launch year 2012 Availability Available | |
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Breathometer was a device that claimed to measure someone's blood alcohol content using their iOS and Android smartphones. But the app proved unreliable, and was shut down by the FTC Breathometer was founded in September 2012 by Charles Michael Yim, who is the company’s current CEO. The company is headquartered in Burlingame, CA.
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Company history
Breathometer was founded by Charles Michael Yim in 2012 after he 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 crowdsourcing 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 $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.
In January 2017 the FTC filed a lawsuit against Breathometer, alleging "deceptive" advertising. While Breathometer claimed their devices were accurate, in truth, Breathometer's products were not adequately tested for accuracy, the FTC alleged. Further, the FTC charged that the defendants were aware that Breeze regularly understated BAC levels. Nonetheless, they allegedly failed to notify users of these problems and continued their deceptive advertising.
According to the complaint, sales of Original and Breeze totaled $5.1 million. The order required the company to pay full refunds to consumers who request them.
The Breathometer
The Breathometer was a small device that plugged into the audio jack of a smartphone, coupled with a dedicated app that reads the user’s blood alcohol content (BAC). The app utilizes the smartphone to provide the processing power, which allows the device to be small enough to fit on a standard keychain.
If the user’s BAC level is over the legal limit, the app displays 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, TX.
The company has since expanded its mission. Breathometer plan to release the Mint, an oral health tracker that tells the user if they have bad breath. Sensors in the device track biomarkers associated with bad breath and have the potential to measure compounds that correlate to gum disease. The company has a partnership with Philips in the area of oral hygiene.