Juul Labs is attempting a comeback, refocusing on its original mission of helping adult smokers transition away from cigarettes. Investor James Sagan of Architect Capital, who invested in Juul in 2023, told NYNext, “Everybody kind of thought Juul was dead and evil. But the early investors and founders have poured a bunch of capital back into the company to save it.”
Central to the revival is Juul2, a new vaping device. Users who age-verify as 21+ can access an optional smartphone app. Juul founders James Monsees and Adam Bowen initially developed the technology at Stanford to provide an alternative to cigarettes. The company has undergone a reset to steer the company back toward harm reduction while preventing underage use.
The device is currently awaiting regulatory approval in the U.S.; it’s already for sale, in the UK.
“We’re all of the belief that Juul is a mission-driven company tackling the most important public health problem,” Sagan said. “That truth will reveal itself at some point in time.”