cross pond high tech

Health gadget company Withings will announce in a few minutes a new funding round from Bpifrance, Idinvest Partners, 360 Capital Partners and existing investor Ventech. Out of the $30 million, $15 million comes fromBpifrance, the newly created public entity — BPI means Public Investment Bank in French. It is one of its first traditional VC deal.

Withings is perhaps best known for its series of smart scales and body analyzers (along with curious one-off devices like a baby monitor), but the company has recently decided to take a stab at creating yet another sort of fitness gadget: a wearable activity tracker. Calling that particular market crowded is putting it awfully mildly. Devices from the likes of Nike, Jawbone, and Fitbit have put an approachable face on the quantified self movement and have garnered plenty of attention from press and health-conscious consumers.

As for the lamp itself, it's both a sleep aid and a sleek, touch-sensitive lava lamp. The device glows a shade of red to help you get to sleep — Withings says the wavelength of light helps the body generate melatonin — and for waking it shines a glowing blue.

Different shades, from purple to yellow, are available at the user's choice. A standalone iPhone app lets users do things like set wake-up times and view their sleep and environmental data, though the information will also be surfaced in the standard Withings app as well for a bigger picture look at your health (Android compatibility is coming down the line, and the device will be able to connect over legacy Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy, or Wi-Fi).

In a clever twist, the lamp portion of the device can also play music and serves as a standalone alarm clock even if you aren't using your smartphone. The lamp is sensitive to touch, and you can turn the alarm on or off with a tap, and set the time for your next alarm by sliding your finger up the side of the device.