Following reports that it has whittled down its FuelBand team, Nike came out Friday saying it is shifting its focus from hardware to software and is looking to build partnerships with other companies, including Apple.
In an interview on CNBC's "Squawk on the Street", CEO Mark Parker said the company is counting on a possible collaboration with Apple to develop its NikeFuel workout metric and other fitness software. Currently, NikeFuel has 30 million users, but the company plans to boost that number to 100 million.
He stopped short of saying that the two companies were in talks of creating a new fitness solution that could possibly be the long-rumored iWatch.
"I will just say that the relationship between Nike and Apple will continue. I am personally - as we all are at Nike - very excited about what's to come," Parker told (video) CNBC.
Apple chief executive Tim Cook has long sat on Nike's board since 2005. The two companies have worked together in fitness endeavors, such as Nike+ iPod in 2006. The Nike+ app also comes pre-installed in all new iPhones. Nike has also created iOS apps for Nike+ FuelBand, Nike+ Training Club and Nike+ Move.
Recently, Nike opened the Nike+ Fuel Lab in San Francisco, which is dedicated to developing integrations of NikeFuel with third-party hardware products.
"Nike is committed to broadening the use of NikeFuel through collaborations with industry leaders to create smarter products and services," said Stefan Olander, Nike's vice president of digital sport in a press release.
Nike has already struck deals with other third-part developers, including fitness apps MyFitnessPal, RunKeeper and Strava.
NikeFuel is a proprietary fitness tracking system that uses data from motion sensors and oxygen consumption patterns. According to the company, NikeFuel can scale any activity, "from a morning workout to a night on the dance floor."
Parker provided no clear answers to questions about FuelBand's demise, but did say that Nike will continue to sell the wearable device, which is, in fact, coming out in new colors.
Meanwhile, a team from Nest Labs has flown to Beaverton, Ore. reportedly to recruit hardware engineers from Nike's disbanded FuelBand group. Following Google's acquisition of Nest in January, the company is now poised to become Google's core hardware group and it needs all the men (and women) it can hire.
In a report by TechCrunch, persons familiar with the issue said Nest handed out invitations to ex-members of the FuelBand team for a "casual meet-and-greet" at a local hotel.
