WHOOP, billed as ‘the human performance company’, has raised US$200 million in a Series F funding round at a US$3.6 billion valuation. This was led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2. Participating investors include: IVP, Cavu Ventures, Thursday Ventures, GP Bullhound, Accomplice, NextView Ventures, and Animal Capital.
According to a release… ‘WHOOP is now the most valuable standalone human performance company in the world. The past twelve months have been marked by rapid growth in WHOOP membership and additional product enhancements to its technology.’
The device is used by athletes such as Mountain Bike World Champion, Kate Courtney; and WHOOP has also partnered with the EF Education-NIPPO pro cycling team.
Offering daily personalized fitness, sleep and recovery data delivered in real time, WHOOP is available via a monthly subscription. The WHOOP Strap 3.0 is included for free as part of the subscription. The strap collects physiological data 24/7. It is lightweight, waterproof and features a new and improved 5-day battery life.
“We are thrilled to deepen our partnership with SoftBank as we grow internationally,” said Will Ahmed, WHOOP Founder and CEO. “While we have experienced amazing growth in the past year, the potential of our technology and the vast market for health monitoring remains largely untapped.”
WHOOP adds that it will use the new capital to:
- Invest in research and development to build the future of wearable technology
- Create enhancements across its suite of product, software and analytics
- Enter new markets through strategic international expansion
- Acquire leading technology companies to evolve the membership offering
- Expand hiring of best-in-class global talent across engineering, data science, analytics and more
- Play a larger role in professional sports and extend WHOOP Live to a greater audience, taking fan and athlete engagement to a new level through biometric data visualization
WHOOP data helps users make lifestyle changes via feedback on sleep, recovery and ‘strain’. Insights are based on measurements of key health indicators such as heart rate variability, resting heart rate, respiratory rate and sleep staging.
“WHOOP continues to experience tremendous user growth as they transform human performance, adding new features and products that are focused on enabling their users to lead healthier lives,” said Kristin Bannon, Investment Director at SoftBank Investment Advisers.
“We are excited to continue our support of Will and the WHOOP team as they aim to improve health in the US and expand internationally.”
As part of the funding round, Kristin Bannon will also join the WHOOP Board of Directors.
WHOOP has more than 500 employees with over 225 new hires in the past 12 months, and has raised approximately US$400 million to date. In 2022, WHOOP will open offices around the world, including a new global headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts, planning to house more than 1,000 team members on site.
