Skip to main content

Juul Labs cofounder James Monsees is coming to Disrupt SF

To say Juul Labs has had a meteoric rise would be an understatement.

The company, which spun out of Pax Labs in 2017, now accounts for a staggering 72 percent of the e-cigarette market. And the product only came to market in 2015. Let that sink in.

But the company’s wild success hasn’t come easily. Regulatory hurdles like FDA approval and an ongoing investigation by the FDA to determine why teens and minors are so enthusiastic about the Juul vaporizer are but a few.

Cofounder and Chief Product Officer James Monsees has been there from the very beginning, and we’re absolutely psyched to have Monsees join us on the Disrupt SF stage in September.

Monsees co-founded Juul with Adam Bowen in 2003, when they would pepper in a handful of smoke breaks during brainstorming sessions. The constant distraction of a cigarette spurred them to start working on Juul.

In 2015, the iteration of the Juul that we see today came to market. It took a while to get going, but as the company expanded its distribution, Juul became a runaway success.

Unfortunately, at least part of that success came from minors, with whom the device is very popular.

As it stands now, Juul is working to educate the public about responsible adult use, marketing the product as an alternative for folks who smoke traditional cigarettes. In fact, Juul recently changed up its social media marketing to only reflect Juul users who were former smokers. Juul Labs has also invested $30 million going towards independent research, youth and parent education and community engagement efforts, which will be spent over the next three years.

But perhaps the most daunting task is FDA regulation, which takes millions of dollars and seemingly endless research.

At Disrupt, we’ll chat with Monsees about Juul’s positioning in the market, how to continue iterating and innovating in a state of limbo with the FDA and what’s next for the company.

Disrupt SF will take place in San Francisco’s Moscone Center West from September 5 to 7. The full agenda is here, and you can still buy tickets right here.



from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/2BW570r
via IFTTT
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Silent Revolution of On-Device AI: Why the Cloud Is No Longer King

Introduction For years, artificial intelligence has meant one thing: the cloud. Whether you’re asking ChatGPT a question, editing a photo with AI tools, or getting recommendations on Netflix — those decisions happen on distant servers, not your device. But that’s changing. Thanks to major advances in silicon, model compression, and memory architecture, AI is quietly migrating from giant data centres to the palm of your hand. Your phone, your laptop, your smartwatch — all are becoming AI engines in their own right. It’s a shift that redefines not just how AI works, but who controls it, how private it is, and what it can do for you. This article explores the rise of on-device AI — how it works, why it matters, and why the cloud’s days as the centre of the AI universe might be numbered. What Is On-Device AI? On-device AI refers to machine learning models that run locally on your smartphone, tablet, laptop, or edge device — without needing constant access to the cloud. In practi...
1 comment
Read more

Apple’s AI Push: Everything We Know About Apple Intelligence So Far

Apple’s WWDC 2025 confirmed what many suspected: Apple is finally making a serious leap into artificial intelligence. Dubbed “Apple Intelligence,” the suite of AI-powered tools, enhancements, and integrations marks the company’s biggest software evolution in a decade. But unlike competitors racing to plug AI into everything, Apple is taking a slower, more deliberate approach — one rooted in privacy, on-device processing, and ecosystem synergy. If you’re wondering what Apple Intelligence actually is, how it works, and what it means for your iPhone, iPad, or Mac, you’re in the right place. This article breaks it all down.   What Is Apple Intelligence? Let’s get the terminology clear first. Apple Intelligence isn’t a product — it’s a platform. It’s not just a chatbot. It’s a system-wide integration of generative AI, machine learning, and personal context awareness, embedded across Apple’s OS platforms. Think of it as a foundational AI layer stitched into iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and m...
Post a Comment
Read more

Max Q: Anomalous

Hello and welcome back to Max Q! Last week wasn’t the most successful for spaceflight missions. We’ll get into that a bit more below. In this issue: First up, a botched launch from Virgin Orbit… …followed by one from ABL Space Systems News from Rocket Lab, World View and more Virgin Orbit’s botched launch highlights shaky financial future After Virgin Orbit’s launch failure last Monday, during which the mission experienced an  “anomaly” that prevented the rocket from reaching orbit, I went back over the company’s financials — and things aren’t looking good. For Virgin Orbit, this year has likely been completely turned on its head. The company was aiming for three launches this year, but everything will remain grounded until the cause of the anomaly has been identified and resolved. It’s unclear how long that will take, but likely at least three months. Add this delay to Virgin’s dwindling cash reserves and you have a foundation that’s suddenly much shakier than before. ...
Post a Comment
Read more