Performance optimization startup WHOOP raises $25 million in new financing round
Sports performance company WHOOP announced a $25 million Series C Financing round. The company says it will use the new funds to accelerate global scale and international expansion of its WHOOP wristband.
A wide assortment of investors participated in the funding including the secretive UAE71 Capital, the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA), Durant Company and Thursday Ventures. A few individuals also backed the company such as NBA commissioner David Stern, CEO of Twitter Jack Dorsey, Los Angeles Chargers player Russel Okung and CEO of Galaxy Digital Mike Novogratz. Prior to this latest financing round, Whoop had raised around $25 million.
“We are at a unique moment in time in that humans are just now discovering what allows them to perform at the highest level,” said Will Ahmed, Founder & CEO.
“Our mission at WHOOP remains focused on unlocking human performance. We welcome our new and returning investors who see the massive opportunity to bring our human performance technology to the world.”
Core to the WHOOP system is a wristband that measures key performance variables more than 100 times per second, 24 hours a day, 7 days per week. The gizmo gathers physiological markers to indicate a users personal readiness to perform each day. It also calculates exertion during workouts and dishes out detailed guidance on how much sleep and rest an athlete needs to recover.
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The important difference between WHOOP and a your run-of-the-mill fitness tracker is in the predictive analytics. Whoop helps users better understand their bodies and how they recover after a hard game or workout. This in turn helps to reduce injuries and optimize performance.
WHOOP is used by many professional athletes around the world. Last year it was approved for in-game use by Major League Baseball and it is routinely used by NBA and NFLPA players during practice and Olympic athletes. The company says after 4 months of use users add 41 minutes of sleep per night, consume alcohol before going to bed 79% less often, reduce resting heart rate by 4.4 beats per minute and report injuries 60% less often.
Previously only sold to professionals, the system has recently become available to the general public. So if you want to train like a pro and don’t mind spending $500, head over to the WHOOP website.
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