This year, the connected wearables market is 504 million unitsThe products range from smartwatches to fitness trackers to earwear, according to market intelligence firm IDC. Artificial intelligence (AI) is being brought into a more active role in this field. Oopsis a fitness tracking company that uses training watches with an AI-powered operating system that feeds information to virtual coaches.
The Boston-based company has raised more than $400 million in venture capital since its founding in 2012. The company says its latest funding round makes it the world’s most valuable standalone wearable company.
The company has seen steady growth in the wake of the pandemic and efforts to expand access to workouts for consumers. The company is currently focused on using AI to drive unique customer experiences and build community among users.
As a competitor to Apple Watch, Fitbit, and other wearables, Whoop has a similar business model. The wearable provides a feed to an app where personal data about physical fitness, activity, stress, and sleep is measured and tracked.
What sets Whoop apart from its competitors is its recently introduced features.coach”
According to Whoop Chief Technology Officer Jamie WadeauWhoop Coach, launched in September, uses proprietary algorithms, custom-built machine learning models, and proprietary biometric data to identify patterns and connections in Whoop data. Coaches can generate personalized, conversational answers to health, fitness, and wellness questions within seconds.
For example, rather than attend a wedding, drink cocktails, and end up with a poor recovery score the next day, users can tell their coach their future plans and ask for suggestions on how to maximize their recovery. . Collect data in an actionable way, whether users ask how to improve their heart rate variability, how to manage their sleep as new parents, or how to optimize their morning routine Competence is what sets coaches apart and accomplishes what Mr. Wadeau described. User reaction was positive.
“As AI advances, the benefits are increasing and consumers are increasingly eager to implement AI-enabled technology in every area of their lives,” Weidor told PYMNTS. “At a time when highly personalized, data-backed insights are increasingly being sought by consumers, he set out to build the best possible AI-enabled coach relevant to our products.
“Our data shows that our members are using Coach, and nearly 50% have engaged with Coach since launch. We feel Coach is a step forward for the health tech industry,” said Weidor. added.
That progress will be built on data. AI-generated datasets bring consistency to the Whoop user community. In fact, the company recently announced insights it collects from users about their lifestyle preferences and exercise behaviors. For example, a Whoop member said he consumed alcohol less frequently in 2023, but when he did, he consumed more alcohol, averaging three drinks per sitting. Restorative ice baths have grown significantly in popularity, as has red light therapy, which has been proven to improve melatonin levels and promote sleep.
Waydo recognizes that with data comes responsibility and consumer privacy hurdles are higher for AI. He said personal data will not be accessible to third parties.
In developing Coach, Whoop mandated that LLM partners have a “zero retention/zero training policy.” This means that the data is not stored or used in non-Whoop LLM models. This policy will become more important as AI continues to develop for consumer applications, he said.
“As we conducted research during and after the pandemic, we found that consumers are increasingly valuing and prioritizing accessibility in managing their health and fitness,” he said. “We have learned that making health and fitness available to everyone 24/7 is what consumers want and deserve. We want to help consumers monitor every heartbeat of every day.”
Waydo said that as this year rolls out, Whoop plans to continue innovating Coach by enhancing its strength training app and stress monitoring features. He said he expects AI to continue to make Whoop more personalized and provide the company with data about consumers’ needs and preferences.
