The archive · Hardware & Devices · Strategic decision · 2020–2024
OSOM's privacy-phone bet: born from Essential's ashes, shut down in Sept 2024
Former Essential engineers built OSOM to sell privacy-first phones; the Solana Saga sold out only after a BONK airdrop, and OSOM shut down in Sept 2024.
OSOM Products
What the business is
OSOM (Out of Sight, Out of Mind) was a US hardware startup founded in 2020 by former Essential engineers and executives, led by ex-head of R&D Jason Keats, building privacy-first products: the OSOM Privacy Cable and the OV1 phone, which shipped to market as the Solana Saga.
Starting capital：OSOM never built a large war chest for the phone: it brought the OV1 to market through its Solana partnership, and by May 2024 could not raise a new round. CEO Jason Keats told TechCrunch that 'the bleak market climate for fundraising for consumer electronics startups' left no way to continue.
How it started
OSOM formed in 2020 out of the collapse of Andy Rubin's Essential: former head of R&D Jason Keats and other Essential engineers wanted a second act built on privacy. It announced the OV1 phone, shipped the OSOM Privacy Cable, and lent its engineering to Solana, which released the OV1 as the Saga.
What happened
The Saga flopped at first: on Dec 5, 2023 Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko lamented weak sales on a podcast. Then each Saga's bundled 30M BONK tokens became worth about $990 against a $599 phone, and the device sold out in the US on Dec 15, 2023. In March 2024, Solana did not pick OSOM for the Saga Two.
How it ended up
Without the Saga contract OSOM had no customers for a phone: it laid off most staff in May 2024, tried an AI-powered camera and a sale to HP, failed at both, and shut general operations on Sept 6, 2024 — leaving a few engineers as contractors to ship a December security update for the Saga.
Background
OSOM Products was founded in 2020 by former Essential engineers and executives — including ex-head of R&D Jason Keats — after Andy Rubin's Essential collapsed. The name stood for 'Out of Sight, Out of Mind': the company bet that privacy could differentiate hardware, starting with the OSOM Privacy Cable, a USB-C cord with a data-transfer kill switch, and the OV1, a security-first Android phone.
To fund and distribute the phone, OSOM partnered with Solana, which sold the OV1 as the Saga with blockchain features. The phone initially flopped — on Dec 5, 2023 Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko lamented weak sales — before each Saga's bundled 30M BONK tokens became worth about $990 against a $599 price, and the device sold out in the US on Dec 15, 2023.
The sellout did not save the partnership: in March 2024 Solana chose not to use OSOM for the Saga Two, and by May OSOM's CEO was telling staff it had 'no customers for a mobile phone'. The company laid off most employees, tried to pivot to an AI-powered camera and attempted a sale to HP; both failed.
Unable to raise a new round in a cold consumer-hardware market, OSOM shut general operations on Sept 6, 2024. A handful of engineers stayed as contractors to push out a December security update for the Saga, and the OV1 never shipped under OSOM's own name.
What has to be true
- A concentrated-customer bet: OSOM's phone business lived and died with one partner — when Solana did not pick it for the Saga Two in March 2024, the company lost its only real customer.
- A crisp, dated fact: the Saga sold out in the US on Dec 15, 2023 because 30M BONK per phone were worth ~$990 versus a $599 price — proof the token, not the phone, was the draw.
- A failed pivot with a clear sequence: May 2024 layoffs, an AI-powered camera that never shipped, an HP acquisition that never closed, then shutdown on Sept 6, 2024.
- A distinctive origin: born from Essential's ashes, OSOM repeated Essential's arc — strong engineering, no customers, no money.
What can be applied
A hardware startup's real customer can be its partner, not the market: OSOM's only buyer was Solana, so when Solana moved on, a company with 'no customers for a mobile phone' had nothing left to sell.
Aftermath
OSOM's general operations ended on Sept 6, 2024; a few engineers stayed on contract to deliver a December security update to the Saga. Solana Mobile did not immediately name a replacement partner for the Saga Two, and Android Authority noted the shutdown ended hopes of an OSOM-built follow-up. The OV1 never shipped under OSOM's own name, leaving the Privacy Cable as the company's only self-branded product.
Sources
- Osom is shutting down on Friday, as it had 'no customers for a mobile phone'
- Everything is not OSOM: The company born from Essential's ashes is shutting down
- Solana phone sells out in US as traders spot arbitrage with bonk's skyrocketing price
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