Essential, the company that introduced notches in the smartphone, is now no more. Founded by Android co-founder Andy Rubin, announced its closure earlier this year. The company’s only product, Essential Phone, sold poorly and received mixed reviews as well. Other promised devices operating system and home assistant never really materialised. So the reason behind the company shutting down is obvious.
However, the good news is the former staff of Essential have gathered under a new company called OSOM Products, founded by Essential R&D head Jason Keats. Notably, it doesn’t include Andy Rubin.
OSOM, which stands for Out of Sight, Out of Mind, is on a mission of giving us more control over our data. This will be done through a combination of software and hardware, with more than half a dozen products arriving in the upcoming years starting from 2021.
“Everything we’re doing is built around privacy,” says Keats, who along with founding OSOM serves as its CEO. “It’s really about giving people a choice. Right now there’s no choice on who private information is shared with and how. … We want consumers to own their privacy, own their data.”
According to Keats, OSOM won’t have access to the data, and when users want to share the data, it will let users know where it’s going. Data will be stored on a user’s device unless they allow it to be shared elsewhere, and OSOM won’t be able to access it, Keats says.
Right now, OSOM employs around nine people and aims to have around 50 employees by the end of 2021. OSOM has secured $5.6 million in funding from angel investors and is currently raising its Series A round. OSOM wants to become “the No. 1 tech brand” associated with privacy in the world.