What InCare Technologies does

ICARE Technologies SAS, operating commercially as Aeklys by Starck and (in firmographic records) referred to as InCare Technologies, is a privately held European wearables and payment-services company headquartered in Ajaccio, Corsica, France. The company's flagship product is the Aeklys® NFC smart ring, a battery-free, waterproof wearable co-designed with Philippe Starck and offered in Classic and Black Edition variants. Each ring is linked to a Mastercard-branded prepaid payment account issued by the FCA-regulated electronic money institution AF Payments Limited, enabling contactless payments at any contactless terminal worldwide with no opening, annual, activation, or international transaction fees, and offering up to 5% cashback. Companion software comprises the Aeklys mobile app (iOS/Android), a Demo app, an extended Aeklys Xp app, and a Finger Sizer app for sizing.

The business model combines one-time hardware sales of the ring with an emerging layer of recurring services, including time-based "Aeklys Packs" subscriptions and the ICARE Mobility Solution (a virtual vehicle-key service developed with Belgian partner OTA keys) sold on an annual license per device. Additional "Exclusive Services" cover digital business-card sharing, gym access, public transit, and smart-home/office door access, positioning the ring as a unified wallet-and-key replacement. The company sells direct-to-consumer through its owned aeklys.com storefront and mobile apps, with free shipping in Metropolitan France and payment-account availability extended to UK residents, and is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER). It holds the Aeklys® trademark, won the 2021 Concours Lépine Gold Medal, and operates with 51–100 employees according to firmographic data; no revenue, funding, or detailed pricing figures are publicly disclosed. (Note: firmographic records list InCare Technologies as a Birmingham, US-based computer-networking/managed-IT firm founded in 2012 that acquired PC Doctor IT in 2019; the substantive product, legal-entity, and partnership data all describe the French ICARE Technologies SAS / Aeklys entity, and this description is grounded in that primary evidence.)

Name

InCare Technologies

Legal name

ICARE Technologies SAS

Website

https://aeklys.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

InCare Technologies (ICARE Technologies SAS / Aeklys by Starck) designs, manufactures in France, and sells direct-to-consumer a battery-free NFC smart ring that enables contactless Mastercard payments, access control, and a virtual vehicle-key service for individual consumers in France and the UK.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Wearable Payment Technology

akta.pro primary industry

Mobile Wallets (NFC Tap-to-Pay / HCE) (FSAMAEAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Embedded Card Issuing & Card-as-a-Service (FSAGALAC), Wireless Power Transfer & RFID/NFC Front-End ICs (HDAHAMAK)

Keywords

• Contactless payment ring
• NFC wearable device
• Smart ring payments
• Prepaid payment services
• Wearable fintech

Headquarters

HQ city

Birmingham

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Hardware Sales - Smart Ring: One-time sale of the Aeklys NFC ring hardware in Classic or Black Edition versions, sold directly to consumers through the e-commerce platform.
2. Payment Account Services: Prepaid Mastercard payment account linked to the ring, with fee structure including no loading fees, no annual fees, no activation fees, but inactivity fees of £5/month after 365 days of inactivity and £50 for outgoing transfers.
3. Subscription Services - Mobility Solution: License fees for the ICARE Mobility Solution requiring a paid license for each Product installed on a Vehicle, with annual subscription model as described in the service conditions.
4. Cashback Program: Up to 5% cashback on all purchases made with the Aeklys ring, refunded directly to the user's Aeklys payment account.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

InCare Technologies (operating as ICARE Technologies SAS) designs, manufactures, and sells the Aeklys by Starck smart NFC ring — a battery-free, waterproof wearable that enables contactless payments on any terminal worldwide and functions as a digital key for access control. The ring is paired with a prepaid Mastercard payment account (issued by FCA-regulated AF Payments Limited), mobile applications (iOS/Android), and add-on services including a virtual vehicle key (with OTA keys), digital business card sharing, and access services for gym, transit, and home entry. The company operates as a 100% Made-in-France manufacturer with global direct-to-consumer distribution.

Product overview

InCare Technologies (ICARE Technologies SAS) offers the Aeklys by Starck ecosystem - a smart NFC wearable platform centered around a contactless payment ring co-designed with Philippe Starck. The core product is the Aeklys® NFC smart ring (available in Classic and Black Edition), which operates without batteries and is waterproof. The ring is paired with the Aeklys® mobile application for iOS/Android and linked to a prepaid Mastercard® payment account (issued by AF Payments Limited, FCA regulated). The ecosystem includes companion apps (Demo Aeklys®, Aeklys® Xp, Finger Sizer), exclusive services (digital business card, gym access, transit, smart access), and the Solution de Mobilité virtual vehicle key (developed with OTA keys). Users can subscribe to Aeklys Packs for time-based access to the experience. The company is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Aeklys: Smart NFC contactless payment ring - a wearable smart ring that enables contactless payments without battery or charging required.
• Aeklys Black Edition

Products and services

• Aeklys® Smart NFC Ring (Classic and Black Edition) Battery-free, waterproof smart NFC ring co-designed with Philippe Starck that enables contactless payments on any payment terminal worldwide and serves as a digital wallet and key carrier. Available in Classic and Black Edition versions. Sold directly to individual consumers via e-commerce.
• Aeklys® Mobile Application

Quantifiable outcome

• Up to 5% cashback on all purchases
• +1 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• AF Payments LimitedcoreTechnology or IntegrationAF Payments Limited is the electronic money issuer for the Aeklys payment service, regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FRN: 900440). They issue the Mastercard-branded prepaid card integrated into the Aeklys ring and manage the payment account infrastructure.
• OTA keyscoreTechnology or IntegrationOTA keys is the Belgian mobility technology provider for the ICARE Mobility Solution. They provide the virtual key and vehicle access technology enabling users to digitize vehicle keys and access vehicles via smartphone and ICARE Products.
• MastercardcoreTechnology or IntegrationMastercard International provides the payment network license for the Aeklys prepaid card. Each ring is linked to a Mastercard-branded payment account accepted at all contactless terminals worldwide.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Jakcom: Jakcom produces smart rings with contactless payment, access, and ID features, making it a comparable emerging player in the multi-function smart ring space.
• Nymi (Nymi Band): Nymi Band is a wearable for contactless authentication and payments in workplace and access-control settings, overlapping with Aeklys's identity and access-control positioning beyond pure payments.
• Oura: Oura is a leading smart ring maker focused on health tracking, demonstrating the consumer smart-ring category potential and the distribution model Aeklys could follow if it scales.

Broad incumbents

• Google (Google Pay): Google Pay offers NFC mobile payments across Android devices and also powers Fitbit Pay, forming a large incumbent alternative in the same contactless payment category.
• Apple (Apple Pay): Apple Pay delivers NFC tap-to-pay through iPhone and Apple Watch, representing the broad incumbent substitute that Aeklys must beat on convenience or form factor to gain wallet share.
• Garmin (Garmin Pay): Garmin Pay enables contactless payments from compatible smartwatches, competing for the same 'pay from your wrist/finger' use case as Aeklys within the broader wearable payments category.
• Samsung (Samsung Pay): Samsung Pay provides NFC and MST contactless payments via Galaxy smartphones and watches, a broad incumbent with overlapping contactless-payment positioning to Aeklys's ring.

Direct peers

• K Wearables (K Ring): K Ring is another NFC smart ring for contactless payments, security, and access, directly overlapping with Aeklys on payment and access use cases for individual consumers.
• Token (Token Ring): Token is a smart ring that combines payments, access, and identity authentication, making it a close product-line and value-proposition peer to Aeklys's multi-vertical wearable.
• McLear (PayRing / NFC Ring): McLear's PayRing is a battery-free contactless payment ring that competes head-to-head with Aeklys in the same product category, targeting the same wearable tap-to-pay use case with a similar technology proposition.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/incaretech
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/incare-technologies

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about InCare Technologies