- Whoop says funding makes it the most valuable standalone human performance company in the world
- Boston-based firm to use capital to develop new products, enter new markets and acquire tech companies
Fitness tracker manufacturer Whoop has raised US$200 million in a Series F funding round, with the fresh investment valuing the company at US$3.6 billion.
The round was led by Japanese multinational conglomerate SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2. Other participating investors included IVP, Cavu Ventures, Thursday Ventures, GP Bullhound, Accomplice, NextView Ventures, and Animal Capital.
As part of the deal, SoftBank Investment Advisers’ investment director, Kristin Bannon, will join the Whoop board of directors.
Whoop, which was founded in 2012, said the funding round now makes it the most valuable standalone human performance company in the world.
Whoop plans to use the new capital to invest in research and development to build future wearable tech, create enhancements across its suite of product, software and analytics, and enter new markets through strategic international expansion.
The company is also looking to acquire leading technology companies to evolve its membership offering, as well as hire top talent across engineering, data science and analytics.
Furthermore, Whoop said the funds will help the company play a larger role in professional sports and extend its Whoop Live offering – which overlays real-time data onto videos or images – to a wider audience. It added this would take fan and athlete engagement to a new level ‘through biometric data visualisation’.
Whoop was valued at US$1.2 billion in October 2020 after raising US$100 million in a Series E funding round, which was led by IVP. The venture capital company was joined by several top athletes who invested, including National Football League (NFL) star Patrick Mahomes, golfers Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas, and National Basketball Association (NBA) player Kevin Durant, who is backing Whoop via his investment firm ThirtyFive Ventures.
Whoop now has more than 500 employees, including over 225 new hires in the past 12 months, and has raised approximately US$400 million to date. Next year, the company is set to open offices around the world, including a new global headquarters in Boston, which plans to house more than 1,000 team members on site.
“We are thrilled to deepen our partnership with SoftBank as we grow internationally,” said Will Ahmed, Whoop founder and chief executive. “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.”
Bannon added: “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.
“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.”
