#Trending: Wearable makers flake out

Selling out isn't always a bad thing, unless you're completely sold

It's a hard life as a start-up. Some make it, some fall flat and others get bought for billions of dollars.

It can be a scry time, especially if the larger company looks to have its own agenda. Such was the worry during the Facebook acquisition of Oculus. Plenty of people were up in arms, worried that the social media giant would somehow ruin the VR headset. But it's clear more money has helped the Oculus Riftspeed along in terms of production quality, games and marketing.

Read next: The worst wearable crowdfunding campaigns

The same can mostly be said about Intel buying up Basis, ignoring those peskyBasis Peak recalls. And on a slightly smaller scale, you have the Kickstarter/Indiegogo campaigns that can't meet their goals, or surpass them but can't deliver. The companies, like the Agent Smartwatch, then up and disappear without a trace, and sometimes take the money with them.

But who are the real winners and losers of wearable manufacturers realising they can't go it alone? Read on to find out...

Misfit sold out. But the $260 million by Fossil last year made a lot of sense. Misfit devices blend fashion with function, where Fossil was only starting to dip in tech. The aquisition offered a fantastic transfer of skills, opened up new markets to Misfit and the two companies have become a serious force in 2016.

Misfit has released the Misfit Ray and Speedo Shine 2 while Fossil's on a roll with a whole roster of wearables with the latest being the Q Wander and Q Marshal, with Sonny Vu now at the helm. It doesn't look like the partnership shows any signs of stopping and we're excited to see what else they have in store.