Whoop Secures $55 Million in Series D Funding to Advance Wearable Technology and Data Analytics

VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) learned from foreign media that on November 12, 2019, local time, Whoop, a Boston-based startup specializing in health tracking and sports wearable devices, raised $55 million in its Series D financing round. The new funding consists of a combination of equity and debt. Foundry Group led the round, with participation from Two Sigma Ventures, Accomplice, Thursday Ventures, Promus Ventures, and Silicon Valley Bank.

According to Whoop, the company’s total fundraising will reach $100 million after this round of financing. Whoop will continue to allocate the funds from this round to the research and development of various wearable devices and data analysis.

Whoop’s products include wearable straps that collect physiological data and a corresponding app, providing users with insights into their training and recovery. The platform also displays changes in users’ blood pressure, heart rate, and calorie expenditure. Additionally, the technology monitors users’ sleep and provides related data.

Whoop Founder and CEO Will Ahmed stated, “Over time, you’ll find that Whoop is all over your body. Technology can be hidden on the person, to the point where others don’t even know you’re wearing a sensor.”

Although Whoop claims to have developed a human-centric product for athletes, the market is flooded with wearable devices that track various metrics.

Will Ahmed stated in a press release, “We will continue to expand our membership base globally to ensure Whoop delivers the best possible service to our members. In this regard, Whoop is both a pioneer and a market leader.”

In fact, major tech giants have long integrated numerous health features into wearable devices. The Apple Watch Series 4 introduced an atrial fibrillation detection algorithm and a built-in electrocardiogram (ECG).

Moreover, the biggest news in the wearable sector came earlier this month when Google acquired Fitbit for approximately $2.1 billion ($7.35 per share). Although this development leaves many uncertainties in the market, a blog post by Google does indicate that we can expect to see Google-branded wearable devices in the future.

Foundry Group is a venture capital firm based in the heart of Boulder, Colorado, dedicated to making early-stage technology investments in North American companies and funds, participating in select growth rounds, and identifying and supporting the next generation of venture capital fund managers.

Two Sigma Ventures is an early-stage venture capital fund based in New York City, primarily investing in entrepreneurs who leverage data and computation to shape the future.

Accomplice is an early-stage venture capital firm that invests in technology startups, specializing in cybersecurity, esports, data analytics, SMB software, and emerging hardware platforms and markets.

(Compiled by Xiong Hui)