Howdy!
It’s always fun to try out new technology. That’s what I got to do with the Cudis intelligent ring or, as my roommates call it, the crypto ring.
What I think about the Web3 Wearable.
Solana’s smart ring Cudi is still a very work-in-progress
Cudis A new smart ring tracks health data while offering a health coach AI. It also plans to encrypt the data and give token incentives through the Solana chain.
The startup has a kickstarter feel to it — it sold out its first batch of 1,500 discounted rings in 10 days in early May. Cudis sold more than 3,000 rings from its second batch of 8,500. CEO Edison Chen Chen told me. Chen says the Cudis application is not what it used to be. “nothing close” To a final release because the team wishes to develop the app “together with the users,” Applying their feedback as they go.
I wore my Cudis rings for a full week. The ring and its associated app seemed to track my data accurately, but the team’s build-the-plane-as-you-fly mentality has drawbacks that show in the app’s unfinished feel.
The AI coach tracked data from my health that was not intended to be tracked, and this is a bit disconcerting. Chen was surprised to learn that the hardware of my app communicated my blood oxygen level and my blood-pressure levels to my AI Coach.
Chen joined Cudis as a developer in August of 2023. Prior to that, Chen worked at a Chinese Venture Capital firm Plum Ventures He told me that he personally invests in consumer technology.
Cudis, in its current state, displays sleep patterns, heart rate, and steps. AI bots can provide health advice. You can also find a “points” tab where users can earn tallies for using the ring — presumably for a future token airdrop. Cudis says that an airdrop in Q3 2020 will take place.
There’s a fierce competitor in the market: OuraIn 2022, the value of the sleep-tracking smart ring was estimated at $2.5 Billion.
Cudis has a price advantage over Oura. Oura rings are $300 and require a $72 annual subscription for access to much of the health data. Cudis is 1.5 SOL or about $200, at the current price, plus the possibility of a future “airdrop” which would further reduce the cost if tokens were sold.
Cudis does not currently store health data on the blockchain. Chen explained that the company plans to implement encryption of user data both on the app and in the ring. Data will be saved on Solana and the only person who can access the data is the user.
Chen explained that one of the benefits could be an online data market where users have the option to sell their data, for example in marketing research. The social aspect of Cudis will also be developed by Chen.
Although the ring has a seven-day waterproofing and a battery that lasts for seven days, in my experience, I found Cudis to be slow at times and difficult to use. Data seems to be accurate in most cases, but it may take hours before the app is updated. The app has a lot of data charts with vague labels and they don’t load all the time.
It is not possible that the sleep tracker would report me awake at night for over 30%. Chen explained that wakefulness was currently grouped with rapid-eye movement sleep (REM), something which will be rectified in an upcoming update.
The AI bot seems to be able to access data that it shouldn’t. Chen stated in our conversation. “we are not getting the AI coach to tap into your data yet” In a later update, the app asked for permission to use the AI bot in order to analyze my data.
The AI assistant told me I am overly anxious when I asked for advice on health. Based on heart rate variability and blood pressure. Although the hardware to monitor blood pressure is included, there is no separate tab on the app.
This AI coach gave me accurate answers when I asked about my oxygen levels. It’s another built-in function that hasn’t been made live yet. (I should note that I haven’t tested the metrics in other places, so I could be getting incorrect data from the app).
Chen said that “doesn’t make any sense” Cudis’ developer team will investigate this matter.
It is well-tested to offer token incentives as you build out your product. Solana Mobile It was more about the tokens that were given away with the phone than the actual usefulness of the Solana Saga as a telephone.
Cudis’ building public strategy raises some more complicated questions, as privacy is an important selling point of the product. The startup cannot afford to make a mistake on this front.
Zero In
It is amazing that there are so many infrastructures and yet few useful apps.
That’s been a complaint from some in the crypto space, and this Q1 venture data from Galaxy Research showed that venture capital’s love affair with crypto infrastructure continued in early 2024 — led by a16z’s major bet on EigenLayer.
Even so, it’s possible that the tides are turning with the arrival of more crypto consumer projects such as Cudis. Farcaster’s $150 million raise in late May was certainly a positive indicator on that front — and I’d be on the lookout for whether VC investment in consumer apps will soon catch up to the money put into infrastructure.
Exclusive The Pulse
Tweed, a Web3 digital payments startup, will power a new blockchain-based event registration platform for Intel Ignite — Intel Corporation’s global accelerator program for early-stage deep tech startups, the company told Blockworks exclusively.
For in-person events, event registrations rely on a variety of third-party software applications. The fragmented nature of data management can lead to user-experience issues and inefficiency.
Tweed addresses these problems by developing a fully-integrated registration system for the Solana networking. Intel Ignite will be able to handle event registrations and schedules internally using this platform, providing a smooth and secure journey for users without external apps.
This new system tokenizes every event ticket into a unique non-financial token (NFT), certified by the Blockchain. All event information is verifiable, traceable and secure managed. Tweed, backed by Intel security, ensures that no encryption keys will be stored in their infrastructure. They also offer a self-custodial option with seamless recovery.
Michelle Latzer stated that she is co-founder and CEO at Tweed. “Our goal with Tweed is to create a seamless and secure experience for every user. This product launch with Intel Ignite not only allows us to create that experience for the tech community and entrepreneurs, but also for an organization with which we have a deep personal connection.”
— Jeff Albus
The One Good DM
An Message from Edison ChenCEO Cudis:
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