WHOOP raises $575M, hits $10.1B valuation

Boston-based wearable fitness company WHOOP announced it garnered $575 million in Series G funding, boosting its valuation to $10.1 billion.

Collaborative Fund led the round, with participation from 2PointZero Group, Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), Mubadala Investment Company, Mayo Clinic, Macquarie Capital (entities administered by Macquarie Capital), Glade Brook, B-Flexion, IVP, Foundry, Accomplice, Affinity Partners, Promus Ventures and Bullhound Capital.

Global athletes and individual investors also participated in the round, including LeBron James, Rory McIlroy, Reggie Miller, Cristiano Ronaldo, Karen Wazen, Niall Horan, Virgil van Dijk, Mathieu van der Poel and Shane Lowry.

Abbott also joined the company as a strategic investor.

WHAT IT DOES

WHOOP offers a fitness and health wearable that tracks sleep, activity, heart health and menstrual cycle. It also provides insights into how daily habits affect one's long-term health and the need for recovery.

In addition, the company offers a Blood Pressure Insights (BPI) feature that provides systolic and diastolic readings.

WHOOP said it will use the Series G funds to scale its platform and expand across the globe, including in Europe, Latin America, Asia and the Gulf Cooperation Council region, a political and economic union of six Middle Eastern countries bordering the Persian Gulf.

The company is hiring for more than 600 new roles this year worldwide to support research and development and its international expansion.

"WHOOP has become one of the most important tools I use to support my long-term health,” Cristiano Ronaldo, a Portuguese professional footballer and WHOOP investor and global ambassador, said in a statement.

"I am proud to participate in this round because I believe in the future we are building together. No other company has created a health platform this powerful that people are proud to wear."

MARKET SNAPSHOT

In 2021, WHOOP raised $200 million in Series F funding at a $3.6 billion valuation, a year after securing $100 million in Series E financing and reaching unicorn status at a $1.2 billion valuation.

In 2019, the wearable company closed a $55 million Series D round in a combination of equity and debt, and in 2018 announced a $25 million Series C financing round.

The company raised $12 million in Series B funding in 2015 and $6 million in June 2014.

In July of last year, WHOOP received a warning letter from the FDA regarding its BPI feature, stating that it qualifies as a medical device under federal law because it provides daily estimates of systolic and diastolic blood pressure.

The agency said it has not authorized BPI for any use, and WHOOP has neither premarket approval nor 510(k) clearance for BPI.

The company publicly responded to the FDA's letter in August during an interview with CNBC, which WHOOP CEO and founder Will Ahmed posted on LinkedIn.

During the interview, Ahmed said the company stands behind its feature as a wellness offering, similar to its other wellness features, such as sleep, exercise and nutrition.

Ahmed said the 21st Century Cures Act applies to WHOOP's Blood Pressure Insights, as the feature is designed for wellness purposes and should not fall under FDA regulation, a stance the agency has successfully applied to heart rate and sleep monitoring technologies.

The dispute between WHOOP and the FDA is ongoing.

WHOOP has also faced legal battles with companies over the past year.

In February, a federal judge from the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts granted WHOOP  a preliminary injunction to stop the distribution in the U.S. of a lookalike fitness tracker made by Shenzhen Lexqi Electronic Technology for the duration of the case.

In October, WHOOP sued Polar, a Finland-based wearable sports and fitness technology company, in federal court, alleging that Polar's Polar Loop fitness tracker copies the look of WHOOP's band, including its fabric strap, metallic elements and screen-free front.

Polar has denied the claims, telling MobiHealthNews that the Polar Loop reflects its own longstanding design approach and does not infringe WHOOP's intellectual property.