Wistiki

The business offered a direct-to-consumer (B2C) product line of physical trackers. These devices connected to a smartphone app (available for iOS and Android) via Bluetooth Low Energy. Key features included the ability to make the tracker ring, a hot-and-cold radar for proximity sensing, and a map view showing the last known GPS location of the item. The system also featured a 'reverse alert' to find a misplaced phone by pressing a button on the tracker and a 'virtual leash' to notify the user if an item went out of range. Revenue was generated from the sale of these hardware devices, with the companion app being free to use without a subscription. Facing high customer acquisition costs in the B2C space, Wistiki later pivoted towards a B2B model, aiming to integrate its tracking technology directly into other companies' products. A partnership with Lacoste was announced in 2019 as part of this new strategy.

The company's journey was marked by successful crowdfunding campaigns on platforms like My Major Company and Indiegogo, which helped finance its initial development and subsequent product lines. It also secured venture capital, including a €2 million funding round in 2016 from investors like Xavier Niel and Stéphane Richard. At its peak in 2015, the startup was valued at €16.5 million. Despite selling over 500,000 trackers and attempting a strategic pivot, the company faced financial difficulties. In April 2020, Wistiki was placed into judicial liquidation by the Paris Commercial Court. The company's assets were later acquired by the holding company Castellac.