Wearables Startup Whoop Notches $200M At $3.6B Valuation

Fitness wearables firm Whoop notched $200 million in a Series F funding round led by SoftBank’s second Vision Fund, bringing the Boston startup’s valuation to $3.6 billion.

Additional investors in the round included IVP, Cavu Ventures, Thursday Ventures, GP Bullhound, Accomplice, NextView Ventures and Animal Capital, according to a Monday (Aug. 30) blog post by Whoop.

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Whoop Founder and CEO Will Ahmed said the startup’s expanded relationship with SoftBank comes at a time when the company has its sights set on international expansion.

“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,” Ahmed said in the blog post.

Aside from global expansion, this fresh infusion of capital is earmarked for developing new technology and hiring more talent, Ahmed indicated.

The company said in its post that Whoop is “now the most valuable standalone human performance company in the world.” 

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Whoop offers a digital coach to help people meet health and fitness goals. The program is available every day of the year, 24 hours a day and is being used by professional athletes like Kansas City Chiefs quarterback and two-time NFL Super Bowl champ Patrick Mahomes and NBA Los Angeles Lakers MVP LeBron James, among others. The wearable is also the official wearable of the NFL Players Association, according to the Whoop website.

A membership with Whoop combined with its free hardware is intended to help users change lifestyle habits that don’t serve their goals and gives “actionable feedback on sleep, recovery, and strain,” per the post. Insights are gathered from “key health indicators “ — heart and respiratory rates, and “sleep staging.”

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“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. As part of the funding round, Bannon will join the Whoop Board of Directors.