Boston-based wearable fitness company WHOOP announced it expanded its language offerings and global footprint, now shipping to 56 markets worldwide, including Hong Kong, Bahrain, Korea, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Israel, Taiwan and Kuwait.
WHOOP’s wearable health tracker collects physiological data on heart rate, sleep, recovery and strain. Users also have the option to track their menstrual cycle. Its corresponding app displays health analytics and a journal that helps users track self-reported behavior, and offers personalized coaching.
The company also announced that its app is available in Italian and Latin American Spanish, in addition to its current offerings in English, German and French. In a statement, the wearables company said additional languages will be available soon.
WHOOP appointed three new executives to its leadership team to support its growth, including Ed Baker as chief growth officer, Michener Chandlee as chief financial officer and John Sullivan as chief marketing officer, who was promoted from within.
Baker was formerly a leader at Facebook and Uber, and founded AnyQuestion, a platform that answers users’ questions on various topics such as sports and health and wellness.
Chandlee previously held the positions of chief risk officer at Nike and CFO of Nike’s global marketplace. He was also CFO of sportswear manufacturer and retailer Fanatics.
“WHOOP is experiencing remarkable growth and momentum, particularly in new markets around the world. We’re excited to open these new markets and provide over 125 million people with access to WHOOP,” Will Ahmed, founder and CEO of WHOOP, said in a statement.
THE LARGER TREND
In 2020, the company earned unicorn status after closing a $100 million Series E round, bringing its valuation to $1.2 billion.
Less than a year later, the wearable-tech company raised a whopping $200 million in Series F funding, bringing its total raise to $400 million and boosting its valuation to $3.6 billion.
WHOOP acquired sports technology startup PUSH less than a month later. PUSH offered wearable sensors that can be placed in multiple places on the body to help athletes and their trainers quantify weightlifting performance.
In 2022, WHOOP eliminated 15% of its workforce, affecting every department in the company. The company noted that the economic environment created new challenges and uncertainty.
Last year, the company announced a partnership with OpenAI to leverage GPT-4 for its WHOOP Coach generative AI platform. Coach uses a WHOOP member’s goals, performance science and biometric data to generate individualized and conversational responses to health and fitness questions.
