Meta is sunsetting Move, an app that tracks physical activity and calories burned across games and apps on Meta Quest.

The news came in an email notifying users that the app will be discontinued on March 31. The tech company explained that Move relies on legacy technology, limiting its ability to introduce new innovations for Quest users.

The app allows users to set calorie-burn and Move-minute targets to match their personal goals, with the option to display live Move stats without leaving their game or app, like Beat Saber and Supernatural. Calorie estimates are generated using an algorithm that factors in basal metabolic rate (age, weight, height and sex) along with data from headset, controller and hand movements. Users can also choose to rely on average estimates instead. 

“This transition will allow us to deliver more advanced and exciting features to enhance the Quest experience,” the email continued. 

According to Meta, the discontinuation of Move won’t affect any other fitness features built within individual apps. 

For some Quest fitness users, the decision comes as a new blow. Meta had just killed off Scoreboards, an app that consolidated leaderboard data in one place, allowing users to view their placement and compare their ranking against followers, in December 2024

In a thread discussing Meta’s decision on Reddit, many Move users indicated that while the app’s accuracy in tracking calories based on movement versus heart rate was lackluster, they did appreciate its ability to track daily headset usage and keep them motivated. Still, the disappointed from some are apparent: “So sad Meta is still not getting it – Quest 3 is a fitness gadget…” one poster shared. The decision also has some Quest fitness users considering purchasing a smartwatch or wearable fitness tracker.

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Google has received clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its Loss of Pulse Detection feature on the Pixel Watch 3. The innovation can detect a loss of pulse and, if the user is unresponsive, prompt a call to emergency services to potentially provide life-saving intervention in critical moments.

Out-of-hospital cardiac arrests account for more than 356,000 deaths in the U.S. each year, with over half of these cases occurring without a witness. Google’s Loss of Pulse Detection aims to address this medical challenge.

The feature was first introduced in Fall 2024 for Pixel Watch 3 users in select EU countries. It has since expanded across 14 European nations. Now, with FDA clearance secured, eligible users in the U.S. can access the technology.

Loss of Pulse Detection leverages a multi-check, AI-based algorithm with the Pixel Watch 3’s multipath heart rate sensor to identify potential pulse loss. If the user is unresponsive, the device initiates an alert to emergency services.

Google tested the algorithm over hundreds of thousands of hours of data. The company also worked with a range of experts, including cardiologists, global resuscitation authorities and frontline EMS professionals. Apeer-reviewed study on Loss of Pulse Detection was published today in Nature, a respected scientific journal.

Since its release in late 2024, the Pixel Watch 3 has helped Google expand its presence in the smartwatch market. The latest model introduced a larger 45mm size, improved battery efficiency and expanded health tracking features through Fitbit integration. Google’s estimated 24-hour battery life does trail behind some competitors., however. Despite being a relatively new player in the smartwatch space, Google’s focus on advanced health monitoring suggests a long-term strategy of differentiation through medical-grade technology, potentially bridging the gap between traditional consumer wearables and regulated medical devices.

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Level Zero Health, a female-founded startup centered on continuous hormone monitoring, has landed $6.9 million in a pre-seed round for its health monitoring wearable that eliminates the need to head to the lab to get blood drawn.

Swiss VC firm Redalpine led the round, which included several other venture capital and private equity firms. 

“Hormones are critical to our health across our whole lifespan,” the startup shared on LinkedIn in a post announcing the funding. “Our objective is clear: enable access to a wealth of data that hormonal patterns give us—from clinical applications to wellness and beyond.”

Level Zero Health has honed in on developing a minimally invasive wearable device worn on the arm that provides data correlated with blood readings through interstitial fluid. The device then offers real-time updates on hormone levels.

Behind Level Zero Health are co-founders Ula Rustamova, a former enterprise tech lead at Palantir and Irene Jia, a bioengineer who worked for Philips in research and development. 

“I have to pinch myself that this is indeed what we are getting closer to every single day – a breakthrough technology that will have a ripple effect on healthcare for years to come,” Rustamova, Level Zero Health’s CEO, posted on LinkedIn. 

She noted that while the funding broke the record for Europe’s largest pre-seed round for a female-founded team, she’s conflicted: “It’s an example of what’s possible, and these stories should be highlighted. But I also hope one day, almost every article doesn’t have to highlight that we are indeed female,” Rustamova wrote.

As of now, continuous monitoring is commonly associated with glucose—a technology Rustamova credited with revolutionizing diabetes care during a presentation at Entrepreneur First’s Summer ’24 Demo Day, where she noted that leading names and experts from Harvard and Mount Sinai have joined the team.

“The company that makes CGMs makes $4 billion revenue and that’s just from glucose,” she pointed out. “And we’re addressing markets much bigger than that, starting with IVF and low testosterone, where clinics know the pain, and they’re lining up to work with us.”

The startup told TechCrunch that it intends to have its wearable patch cleared for prescription use next year for intermittent hormone testing associated with medical use cases such as fertility and low testosterone and hopes to have the device brought to market in 2028 to continuously measure progesterone, estrogen and testosterone.

“Hopefully, this year we want to show some level of correlation [between levels of hormones the wearable patch can detect and levels detected via a blood draw] — that’s the promise I want to deliver with the pre-seed money,” Rustamova told the publication.

“For too long, hormone testing has relied on invasive blood draws that capture just a single moment in time,” Redalpine shared on LinkedIn. “Level Zero Health is changing the game – their wearable will enable real-time, remote hormone monitoring, transforming care for IVF, menopause, testosterone therapy and beyond. With precise engineering and software, and impressive speed to execution, Level Zero Health is the perfect example of deeptech meeting real-world impact. As Philip [Kneis], investor at Redalpine and board member of Level Zero Health, puts it: We did it for blood pressure, and we will do it again for hormones.’”

The startup is now focused on expanding its London operations and is on the hunt for a founder associate, as well as six other roles, including a head of research and development and biosensor research scientist.

The post The Startup Aiming To Disrupt Hormone Testing appeared first on Athletech News.

Five-time Olympic medalist Gabby Thomas has joined Amazfit, a global smart wearables brand under Zepp Health, as an ambassador through a four-year partnership.

She is one of several high-profile figures who have been named brand ambassadors in the health and wellness space recently, alongside model Ashley Graham for supplement gummy brand Olly and Super Bowl champion Cooper DeJean of the Philadelphia Eagles for Renpho, a recovery and wellness tech brand.

Thomas, a U.S. track and field athlete, will wear Amazfit smartwatches during training, competition, and sleep—tracking her recovery and sleep health while using the device’s analysis to enhance her performance.

“I’m really excited to partner with Amazfit because, for me, the little things make all the difference,” Thomas said. “As an athlete, this is the exact type of partnership that will help me continue to get better. It’s so important to have objective data on my body—whether it’s tracking my heart rate during a workout, seeing how well I’ve recovered, or understanding how much quality sleep I’m getting. Having a reliable smart wearable brand like Amazfit in my corner is a game-changer.”

Thomas will also collaborate with Amazfit’s development and design teams, providing insights and feedback on product features and styles.

She joins other Amazfit athletes, including Hyrox world champions Meg Jacoby and Hunter McIntyre, padel star Bea González, and Olympians Morgan Pearson (triathlon) and Yemaneberhan “Yeman” Crippa (5K & 10K).

Last fall, Hyrox announced a two-year partnership with Zepp Health, where Amazfit will serve as the competitive racing company’s official wearable and timekeeping partner and support its 300,000 athletes per season across the U.S. and Europe.

“We are honored to have Gabby join the Amazfit team,” Zepp Health founder and CEO Wayne Huang said. “Her remarkable athletic career and passion for style align closely with our mission to unlock the limits of human potential to ‘Discover Amazing.’ Through this partnership, we will continue to empower athletes to unleash their full potential by rewriting the record books utilizing our advanced smart wearables ecosystem.”

In addition to Amazfit’s product line of smartwatches, the wearable company also offers open-ear earbuds and the Helio Ring, a subscription-free wearable ring that tracks health metrics and recovery.

The post Track to Tech: Gabby Thomas Joins Amazfit Wearables appeared first on Athletech News.

Sleep is becoming big business. From wearable tech to smart mattresses to luxury hotel offerings, companies of all sizes are entering the race to help people sleep better for longer, pushing the global sleep market to a projected $950 billion by 2032, per Emergen Research. 

The NBA is getting on board, too, choosing sleep wearable maker Somnee as part of its 2025 NBA Launchpad cohort, the basketball league’s “Shark Tank”-style program that puts a spotlight on emerging technologies. 

Founded by a team of neuroscientists including University of California, Berkeley, professor and social media personality Dr. Matt Walker, Somnee makes a sleep headband that uses EEG sensors to help people fall asleep faster, sleep longer and improve their sleep quality. 

In late 2023, the company hired former Fitbit chief marketing officer Tim Rosa as its CEO, counting on Rosa to build Somnee into the next big wearable brand. 

Rosa sat down with Athletech News to discuss Somnee’s new partnership with the NBA and how the brand is using wearable tech to revolutionize the way people around the world sleep.

The following conversation has been lightly edited for clarity and length.

Athletech News: Can you tell us about your background and why you decided to join Somnee in 2023? 

Tim Rosa: I started my career on the brand side and then got recruited over to Sega Sports and ESPN Video Games to run sports marketing. After we got acquired, I launched the 2K Sports brand. NBA 2K was my baby, and we grew it from under 7% market share to 100% market share in five years. From there, I ended up at Electronic Arts and EA Sports. I then joined a tiny startup called Fitbit. We grew Fitbit from the U.S. to 100 countries, selling around 140 million units during my 10 years there and doing the biggest IPO in history for a consumer electronics company. We ultimately sold to Google. 

I then took some time off, when I got a call from Vinod Khosla of Khosla Ventures and Dr Matt Walker – probably the most famous sleep scientist in the world – who’s the co-founder of Somnee. They called about a CEO opportunity. I actually struggled with adult insomnia – I was taking THC and CBD edibles to help me fall asleep, which I’ve since learned are bad. I said, “Look, I don’t know that much about (sleep science). But if this thing works, I’ll be open to it.” During my third Somnee session, I fell asleep with it on.

ATN: What have your early priorities been since taking over as Somnee’s CEO?

TR: I’m deeply passionate about consumer experiences. Our gen-one product is great, and the technology is amazing, but it looked like a bunch of engineers and scientists had assembled it for a “Star Trek” episode. It was scientists speaking to scientists. I said, let me relaunch the brand, because we have the opportunity to scale to general population consumers. We’ll be rolling out some new products this year. I can’t talk about it in too much detail yet, but it’ll be a game-changer for the category. 

ATN: At a high level, how does Somnee help people get better sleep?

TR: We’re like a sleep lab for the bedroom. We’re taking the technology that Dr. Matt Walker and our scientists use at UC Berkeley, and we’ve miniaturized it into a product that not only helps with sleep onset, but helps with sleep maintenance as well as overall quality. 

We use what we call EEG-plus, which essentially maps your brain, because every brain is different. What we’re trying to do is figure out each individual’s optimal state for sleep. That takes about 21 sessions because there are different stages: mapping, personalization and optimization (adaptive). By the end of that, we’re affecting your ability to fall asleep, your ability to stay asleep and your overall quality of sleep. So it’s a unique product, and pretty groundbreaking. 

ATN: What was it like to be selected as part of the NBA Launchpad program?

TR: I have an almost 20-year relationship with the NBA (dating back to Rosa’s time in video games). When I was at Fitbit, I brokered one of the very first jersey patch deals with the Minnesota Timberwolves. It was an awesome partnership and relationship. During that time, I met (NBA executive) Tom Ryan. He reached out to me a few months ago and said, “Hey, I love what you’re doing at Somnee. Would you be open to participating in this?”

But it wasn’t something they just gave us. We had to make a “Shark Tank”-like pitch in front of the chief medical officers and trainers for the NBA, G League and WNBA, along with executives and team representatives. It was really important to them that the science was there. Obviously, we have four of the most famous neuroscientists in the world who founded the company, so there’s a lot of respect that already comes with that. But (the NBA) looked at our clinical data and our product roadmap. They love the new products and how those are being positioned. We’ll now do a six-month pilot study with the NBA. Assuming all goes well – we’re confident the results will be good – Somnee will go to referees, coaches, training staff and players across the NBA, WNBA and G League.

ATN: What does partnering with the NBA mean for Somnee – and for the future of sleep science? 

TR: It’s a great validation for us. But the reality is that our mission goes beyond sports. We’re trying to affect sleep fitness at every level with everyone from athletes to shift workers to what we call performance-optimizers. So we’re going to go after much bigger population sizes than just elite athletes.

I also think it speaks to the importance and impact of sleep. Sleep is a superpower, as Matt says. It affects your mental health, general health and physical health. There’s a ton of research around sleep and athletic performance, so the league, agents and players are becoming wise to the importance of quality sleep.

There’s research showing that sleep can improve sprint times (by 4.3%) and shooting accuracy by almost 10%. Andre Iguodala during his championship season (in 2014-15) had a huge improvement – decreased turnovers, improved shooting accuracy and points per minute – when he went from sleeping less than seven hours a night to over eight hours a night.  A product like Somnee is great, especially for athletes in leagues like the NBA and MLB who travel between time zones, which throws off your circadian rhythm. 

ATN: Looking ahead, what’s your vision for the future of Somnee? 

TR: Rolling out the best products that the sleep category has ever seen – and consumers in general have ever seen – that actually help them achieve their goal of getting better sleep. I’m really excited about where we’re headed as a company; this is going to be the first of many products that we have in our roadmap. It kind of reminds me of when we started at Fitbit. Then, sitting was the new smoking. Now, not sleeping is the new smoking.

The post CEO Corner: Somnee’s Tim Rosa on Sleep Science, NBA Launchpad appeared first on Athletech News.

As the wearables space evolves, NextSense, a neurotechnology company, is integrating EEG technology into its latest device, Tone. The brand’s signature product are “brain-responsive” earbuds that use real-time neural dynamics to generate audio experiences that help with sleep improvement.

Athletech news spoke to Caitlin Shure, PhD, Head of Product at NextSense, about the company’s unique take on wearables, as well as her predictions on the future of the space.

Differentiation is Key

Dr. Shure’s path to NextSense ranged from academic pursuits to science journalism.

“My academic research, including a doctoral thesis on the cultural history of brainwaves, explored how emerging neurotechnologies and biowearables are shaping societal views on the self, and the evolving relationship between humans and machines,” Shure told ATN.

“I’ve always been fascinated by how technology transforms not just what we do, but how we understand ourselves. Originally trained as a science journalist, I love making esoteric research relevant to everyday life.”

With countless wearables available, from smart rings to fitness trackers, differentiation is key. According to Dr. Shure, NextSense’s approach goes beyond passive tracking.

“What sets us apart is that we don’t stop at tracking—we take the next step by actively intervening to improve sleep,” she said. “By analyzing brain data in real time, we can adapt nighttime audio to promote deeper, more restorative sleep.”

User Confidence

This closed-loop approach contrasts with traditional sleep trackers that rely on indirect markers like heart rate and movement. Tone’s EEG-based technology allows for a more precise understanding of sleep stages and real-time interventions, according to Shure.

“With EEG technology at its core, Tone goes beyond the limitations of traditional trackers that rely on indirect metrics like heart rate and movement, delivering a precise and nuanced understanding of sleep stages,” Shure added.

Shure also noted the importance of making a wearable easy to wear and use.

“Wearables can only make an impact if you actually want to wear them,” she stated. “So we combine closed-loop biosensing with a familiar, intuitive user experience—allowing you to listen to podcasts, stream music, or take calls seamlessly.”

With growing recognition of sleep’s impact on recovery and performance, fitness professionals are increasingly looking for ways to incorporate brain health into their training and wellness programs. Shure believes Tone could be a game-changer in this space.

“Because Tone offers a high degree of precision, it will allow professionals to understand their sleep—and its impact on performance—with a new degree of clarity,” she explained. “Traditional trackers rely on proxies like heart rate, but EEG gives a direct window into brain activity. This means fitness professionals and their clients can move beyond broad sleep trends to a more nuanced understanding of how sleep quality influences energy levels, cognitive function, and athletic performance.”

Trend Triad

According to Shure, the wearables space continues to evolve, with three major trends: a focus on comfort, the rise of Femtech, and the evolution from monitoring to intervention. First, the growing emphasis on comfort and discreteness has led to the increased popularity of devices like the Oura Ring.

“Sleek, stylish designs can appeal to a broader audience,” Shure stated. “Moving forward, wearables will continue to evolve in form and function to meet consumer demand.”

Women’s health technology is also gaining momentum, addressing needs from menstrual tracking to menopause management.

“Women are already leading the adoption of health wearables, with 25% using them compared to 18% of men, according to the Pew Institute,” Shure noted. “There’s a massive opportunity for more personalized solutions.”

Lastly, the shift from passive data collection to active intervention, according to Shure, will define the next wave of wearables. “By analyzing daily and aggregate patterns, these devices will move toward providing real-time, personalized guidance to manage stress, improve sleep, and optimize wellness,” said Shure. “Closed-loop technology is the future.”

“Technology transforms not just what we do, but how we understand ourselves,” Shure concluded. “The more we learn about the brain and body, the better equipped we are to design tools that help us live healthier, more fulfilling lives.”

The post How NextSense is Innovating Sleep & Brain Health appeared first on Athletech News.

Ultrahuman has announced a strategic partnership with InsideTracker to introduce Blood Vision, a preventive blood-testing platform powered by UltraTrace technology, to the U.S. market. Blood Vision is part of Ultrahuman’s ecosystem, which includes the Ultrahuman M1 continuous glucose monitor, Ring AIR sleep-tracking wearable, and Ultrahuman Home, a home health device. Unlike traditional diagnostic approaches, Blood Vision redefines biomarker analysis by focusing on longevity and proactive wellness rather than disease-centric benchmarks. Blood Vision also interprets small biomarker shifts as responses to lifestyle, environmental, and biological factors for a personalized health roadmap.

Through this partnership, Ultrahuman introduced personalized health packages that integrate multiple cutting-edge tools, including Ultrahuman Ring AIR, an ultra-light wearable ring, the Cardio Adaptability PowerPlug, a platform that uses HRV algorithms to assess cardiovascular strain, autonomic balance, and resilience, and the InsideTracker Heart Category Test that evaluates lipid profiles, inflammatory markers, and metabolic health indicators.

Combining biometric data from Ultrahuman Ring AIR with blood test results provides users with a more holistic perspective on their cardiovascular health.

“Ultrahuman and InsideTracker’s collaboration represents a shift from reactive to preventive health,” said Mohit Kumar, Founder and CEO of Ultrahuman. “Ensuring long-term wellness in America requires personalized cardiovascular insights and lifestyle interventions, giving users a comprehensive and actionable view of their health.”

Beyond cardiovascular insights, Ultrahuman and InsideTracker plan to expand their offerings to include additional biomarker panels focusing on metabolic health, immunity, and hormonal balance. The first tailored health package will soon be available through the Ultrahuman platform and select partners.

“Today’s health consumers demand sophisticated solutions, and this partnership delivers exactly that,” said Rony Sellam, CEO of InsideTracker. “By aggregating and analyzing multiple streams of personal health data, we empower individuals with meaningful insights that can drive real health improvements.”

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Gathering insights regarding your metabolic or mental health once took hours and sometimes days of scheduling, testing and processing. Today, it’s as easy as looking at your wrist — literally. Nearly half of U.S. households own and use wearable fitness devices and there’s been no shortage of wearable brands receiving investments as well. 

Tom Hale, the CEO of Oura, argues they’re just scratching the surface, however. At the 2025 ATN CEO Summit he joined Athletech News Found and CEO Edward Hertzman on stage to discuss wearables, how they’re disrupting health care for the better and how he’s positioned his brand for future success. 

Oura recently raised over $200 million in series D, bringing its valuation to $5.2 billion. The brand also did $500 million in revenue this past year. Hale revealed that a large percentage of Oura’s total addressable market includes individuals who are not physically active and simply intend to age gracefully. That wider net compared to those of other fitness businesses has been vital to Oura’s growth, according to Hale. 

“It’s actually to keep them from not stretching themselves too far,” he said. “So I think of our total addressable market, it’s fitness plus sleep, plus women’s health, plus heart health, plus longevity. It’s a much, much larger number. I think it’s been fundamental to our growth.”

“The most important thing you can have is a big total addressable market,” he added. “So think about it. Don’t limit yourself.”

Hale went on to explain Oura’s mission to transform healthcare, citing that new capital as necessary fuel for the research and development needed to accomplish that goal. Oura believes it’ll all be worth it, citing their ability to help individuals dodge at least a large portion of the healthcare system and its snares with its focus on preventative care. 

“We think of ourselves as arming the rebels,” said Hale. “We’re delivering the value to the end user, to the consumer. What healthcare is oriented around is sick care. We know that the pharmaceutical industry has an incentive to get you sick. Why? Because they want you to buy their medicines. That’s the incentive of the industry, and I think we all in this room are focused on what is effectively some kind of preventative care, whether it’s for longevity, for health or for well being. So our view is that we can drive preventative care, and we can do that through a device.”

Hale added that 11% of Oura users are physicians, illustrating an understanding from those working in unison with healthcare of its benefits. He also reported that those aged 18-24 years old are the brand’s fastest growing demographic. 

These continued efforts hinge on Oura’s usage of artificial intelligence (AI). While AI has been at the top of everyone’s mind for a handful of years now, Oura began using machine learning roughly a decade ago. What’s new, however, is how Oura is using the tech generative capabilities, specifically the large language models, to help users live better. 

Oura believes this new level of machine learning needs to know its end user intimately, have a point of view or perspective and eventually provide advice. 

“It remembers things about you,” Hale said. “Users are allowed to select where they want to be, if they want an aggressive coach who’s going to push them or they want someone who’s going to provide them lots of support. What it really does is it’s trying to build a pathway for you to change behavior.”

Data has already proved these efforts effective, as Hale went on to report that 90% of Oura users in a survey said they’ve changed their health after six months of usage. 

Be on the lookout for more information on the ATN Innovation Summit, a can’t-miss two-day event to be held on June 17th and 18th in New York City featuring the biggest names, brands and ideas across fitness, health and wellness.

The post Oura’s $5.2 Billion Vision: CEO Tom Hale on Disrupting Healthcare appeared first on Athletech News.

The global wellness market is projected to grow to nearly $9 trillion in 2028 as consumers embrace new ways of living, moving and being.  

This is good news for the fitness industry, which is enjoying increased foot traffic at gyms and strong member engagement numbers, although getting more Americans involved in fitness remains a vexing problem.

The rise of longevity services, GLP-1 weight-loss drugs and holistic wellness presents massive opportunities for fitness brands, but also exposes the industry to increased competition from new entrants. Meanwhile, the popularity of strength training is reshaping the way gyms look across the globe, while the rise of AI begins to transform the way fitness brands do business.

To get you ready for a new year, Athletech News breaks down the top fitness and wellness trends to watch in 2025:

• 

  Longevity & Recovery Become Big Business

  The longevity movement took off in 2024 as medical professionals, influencers and everyday wellness enthusiasts alike became enthralled with the idea that scientific breakthroughs and lifestyle choices can help people live better, for longer. 

  Amid this backdrop, longevity and recovery services are steadily making their way inside gyms, health clubs and studios. High-end brands like Life Time and Equinox now offer their members access to services including weight-loss support, biomarker blood testing and personalized health plans (for an extra fee), pushing us closer to a reality where the gym replaces – or at least competes with – the doctor’s office. 

  On the more modest end of the pricing spectrum, high-value, low-price (HVLP) gym chains including Crunch Fitness, Chuze Fitness, EōS Fitness and others are adding recovery modalities like infrared saunas, along with “recovery rooms” stocked with massage guns, massage chairs and more. With premium memberships at HVLP gyms available for $40/month or less, it’s becoming easier than ever to get a holistic wellness experience at your local big box. 

  The rise of longevity isn’t relegated to gyms and studios, either. Wellness and longevity centers are popping up across the United States, offering everything from GLP-1s to cryotherapy to testosterone replacement therapy (TRT). Restore Hyper Wellness is the leader with over 200 locations, but emerging brands like Next Health, Serotonin Centers, Lindora and Humanaut Health are projecting growth in the years ahead.

  Direct-to-consumer longevity is big business, too. According to a survey conducted by YouGov, 45% of Americans say they’re taking supplements to fight the aging process. Timeline, a maker of supplements with an active ingredient designed to slow aging at the cellular level, raised $66 million in funding in early 2024. 

  Those bullish on the science of longevity believe the movement is just starting to gain a critical mass in America. 

  “Today, when I talk to people about slowing down aging, nine out of 10 are telling me, “I shouldn’t be doing it,’” Anar Isman, the CEO of longevity startup AgelessRx, told ATN. “I envision a world in five to 10 years where that’s going to completely flip on its head, where nine out of 10 people are going to be saying, ‘You don’t want to slow down aging? What’s wrong with you?’”

• 

  Fitness Wearables Evolve Into Healthcare Companions

  Fitness wearables are more popular than ever – nearly half of all consumers surveyed by McKinsey reported having purchased a fitness wearable at some point in time. Wearables have also come a long way from the days of simply tracking steps and calories burned from workouts. 

  As tech advances, wearable makers are envisioning a future where your smartwatch, smart ring or other tracking device becomes your personal health companion.

  Smart ring giant Oura acquired metabolic health company Veri earlier this year and has partnered with Dexcom, makers of the first FDA-cleared over-the-counter continuous glucose monitor (CGM) device. Oura and Dexcom are working to create an ecosystem where users can understand how their glucose levels interact with metrics like activity, sleep and stress. Oura is also highly active in women’s health, adding features like Cycle Insights and Pregnancy Insights, along with perimenopause features. 

  “Wearable tech is for anyone who wants to better understand the state of their health and live more optimally, for longer,” Oura CEO Tom Hale has said. 

  Garmin is also working to make its smartwatches part of the future of healthcare, something the brand has termed “smartwatch-enabled digital health.” Thanks to Garmin Health, Garmin wearables have been part of more than 1,000 research studies in areas including sleep, well-being, rehabilitation, physical activity, and disease management. 

  Not to be outdone, Apple has also signaled its ambitions to play a bigger role in healthcare in the years ahead, with Apple Watches at the forefront. 

  “It’s clear to me that if you zoom out way into the future, and you look back and ask what Apple’s biggest contribution was, it will be in the health area,” Apple CEO Tim Cook told “Wired” in December. 

• 

  Strength Training Is Here To Stay. Pilates Might Be, Too

  We named strength training as one of our trends to watch in 2024, and the modality has only increased in popularity since then. Appreciated for its anti-aging, functional and metabolism-boosting benefits, strength training is everywhere, from gyms to TikTok. Even Peloton has embraced the modality, releasing a dedicated strength training app in hopes of bringing more fitness fans into its ranks.

  Big-box gyms across the country are racing to add strength training equipment like Olympic lifting platforms and other free weights to their fitness floors while ditching cardio equipment. Some gyms are even rethinking their group exercise offerings to account for the rise of strength – Vasa Fitness will introduce Studio LFT, a group-based strength training class featuring power racks, benches and plyometric boxes, in early 2025.

  Strength training isn’t just lifting heavy weights, though. Pilates’ surge in popularity over the past few years is thanks in no small part to a rise in awareness around the benefits of strength training. Functional fitness concepts like Pvolve have also become highly popular since the pandemic, buoyed by women embracing strength training in larger numbers than ever before.

  Pvolve president Julie Cartwright believes strength training is here to stay since people are becoming more aware of the science-backed benefits of adding muscle, especially for longevity.

  “I really do think it’s education in the marketplace,” Cartwright told ATN when asked about strength training’s rise and staying power. “Post-COVID, we’re all taking a more active role in our own self-care, in living better, longer. There’s (more) messaging about the importance of muscle mass and what it does for your longevity and health span.”

• 

  Will AI Impact Fitness Experiences?

  AI is changing the world, but will it actually change the way we work out?

  Much has been made in fitness industry circles about the promises (and potential nightmares) of artificial intelligence, but if you ask most gym-goers, the way they participate in fitness probably hasn’t changed too much since before the emergence of ChatGPT.

  “I think much of the AI application in the gym space has been somewhat overhyped,” Matt Wright, the vice president of growth and development at gym chain Healthtrax Fitness & Wellness, has told ATN.

  Can the fitness industry make AI a bigger part of the in-gym experience? Should it?

  Future is using AI to democratize access to virtual personal training, Lumin fitness has big expansion plans as the world’s first AI-powered boutique fitness studio and at-home fitness brands like Tempo and Tonal are using AI to make strength training effective and easy for newbies and fitness buffs alike.

  But as we head into 2025, those brands remain the exceptions rather than the norm. Despite this, some insiders believe it’s just a matter of time before the gym is transformed by AI and other tech.

  “I think in the next 5, 10, years in the U.S., you’re going to see transformative changes within gyms, where technology and AI – and personalization of training programs – is going to take place,” Marc Magliacano, a managing partner at private equity firm L Catterton, said during ATN’s DISRUPT 2024 video series earlier this year.

  If Magliacano’s AI prediction comes to pass, it could spell bad news for real-life personal trainers.

  “Unfortunately, I believe that personal training from a human perspective will be under review, frankly, just to say it nicely,” he said.

• 

  Investors Are Bullish on Fitness Again

  The fitness and wellness industry has rebounded quite nicely from the pandemic, and investors are taking notice.

  2024 was marked by high-profile deals including L Catterton’s acquisition of Solidcore and the firm’s investment into fitness tech brand EGYM, as well as the mega merger between Anytime Fitness parent company Self Esteem Brands and Orangetheory Fitness.

  Meanwhile, private equity groups continue to pour money into large franchisee groups, enabling sophisticated operators to create large portfolios of franchised gym brands in systems including Crunch Fitness, Planet Fitness and Anytime Fitness.

  Consolidation is also happening at the corporate level as larger fitness brands buy up smaller ones. Barre3, a barre fitness franchise brand with around 200 locations nationwide, has acquired competitors including The Barre Code and Barre Centric, while gym giant LA Fitness acquired XSport Fitness earlier this year.

  Experts have told ATN they expect to see more big-time investments in fitness brands in 2025 as people embrace health and wellness – and as the industry moves further away from the carnage of the pandemic.

  “2025 is going to be a huge year for fitness” in terms of deal-making, Jeremy Hirsch, head of franchise and multi-unit services at Houlihan Lokey, predicts. “You’re going to have a lot of investors spending a lot of time on this category.”

  Listen to the ATN audio overview of this article:

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College athletes are getting in on the popular worlds of wearable technology, artificial intelligence and crypto. 

Cudis, makers of an AI-powered smart ring that allows users to control their own health data and earn rewards for physical activity, has signed a one-year partnership with UCLA Athletics.

With the partnership, Cudis will get its rings into the hands of UCLA athletes and other students through campaigns including in-game promotions. Cudis will also pursue name, image and likeness (NIL) deals with UCLA athletes in sports including football, women’s gymnastics, and men’s and women’s basketball, tennis and golf. 

“This collaboration holds special meaning for us as we give back to the community that helped launch our vision,” said Edison Chen, the CEO of Cudis and a UCLA graduate. “By empowering UCLA’s student-athletes with our innovative tech, we’re not just improving their performance and health, we’re introducing them to the transformative power of blockchain and crypto, rewarding healthy habits along the way.”

Launched earlier this year, Cudis rings are built on the Solana blockchain platform and are powered by AI and Web 3 tech. Similar to popular smart rings from Oura and Samsung, Cudis rings track health metrics such as heart rate, sleep, stress and calories burned. Cudis also offers an “AI Coach” feature that provides personalized health insights.

The company has sold over 10,000 units since its rings first went on sale in April, and its online community has around 100,000 members. In September, Cudis raised $5 million in a seed funding round led by Draper Associates. 

Can the Blockchain Revolutionize Wearables?

Cudis’ partnership with UCLA comes as demand grows for fitness and wellness wearables, especially among young consumers. The company cited data that 35% of Gen Z consumers use wearables daily to track their health. 

Among wearables, the smart ring market in particular is heating up, with market leader Oura just raising $200 million at a $5.2 billion valuation and tech giant Samsung recently launching the Galaxy Smart Smart Ring.

According to Chen, two things separate Cudis from brands like Oura and Samsung: a reward system that encourages physical activity and the blockchain, which allows Cudis to safeguard its users’ health data. 

On the rewards front, Cudis users can earn points for engaging in healthy habits and actions, which are tracked by the ring and redeemable for exclusive rewards, including cryptocurrency airdrops. 

Cudis also uses cryptographic signatures, IPFS storage and blockchain verification to safeguard users’ health data. The company says this gives users “complete ownership” of their data.

Data as Currency

Chen argues that Cudis users benefit from a higher level of data privacy than they’d get with wearables like Oura, Whoop or the Apple Watch (these brands have data-privacy policies, although they don’t use blockchain verification). 

“Once you put the data on the chain, your data becomes your asset,” Chen told ATN. “This is the first time that users can actually own their health data as an asset. Whoever wants to use your data needs your approval – even us.”

In time, Chen says Cudis users will be able to monetize their own health data, including potentially selling their data to companies who may want to purchase it for research or marketing purposes. 

“Our data can actually be worth up to $5,000 every year,” Chen believes. 

Big Ambitions

Earlier this month, Cudis launched its second generation smart ring model, the Cudis 002 ($349), which offers up to 10 days of battery life, five meters of Bluetooth connectivity and is waterproof up to a depth of 50 meters. 

Cudis aims to sell one million smart rings and grow its online community to at least 5 million members in the years ahead, Chen told ATN. 

However, he’s quick to point out that the brand’s long-term mission goes beyond sales targets. 

“We want people to realize how important and how valuable their data is,” Chen said. “We want people to know your wellness data is an asset just like your house. If you can rent your house to get paid, you can do the same thing with your data.”

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There’s been a lot of buzz over corporate wellness this year, but could employee-sponsored wearables soon become as commonplace as on-site yoga classes and access to meditation and nutrition apps? 

It’s possible, according to wearable sports and fitness tech company Polar. The Finnish brand has just launched an enterprise wearable, providing companies with a new way to advance their workplace wellness efforts.

The Polar 360 is a screenless, low-profile band equipped with sensor technology and algorithms. While primarily designed to be worn on the wrist, it can also be used on the upper arm.

Data collected by the Polar 360 is converted into meaningful insights, which can be integrated into company apps via Polar’s API. The platform also offers an SDK kit, allowing companies to create their own algorithms and apps using data from the sensor.

As Polar points out, the wearable can be adapted to various uses depending on a company’s needs. For example, a logistics company could employ alertness tracking for driver safety or monitor exposure to extreme temperatures. The data measured – such as heart rate and skin temperature – can also provide early signals to employee burnout or fatigue. Notably, work stress is the number one threat to employee well-being, according to a recent Wellhub survey.

Polar CEO Sander Werring takes a common position these days: that cultivating well-being is a collective effort and one in which companies and organizations play a significant role.

“As this is a drastic change in the scale wearables are used, it is critically important what kind of company the solution comes from,” he said. “With Polar, we bring with us the Nordic, decades-long heritage and compliance towards privacy regulations of the highest standard. Just as Polar launched the wearables industry nearly 50 years ago, we are now shaping how wearables will be utilized 50 years from now. It’s an exciting, ambitious journey, and we’re thrilled to be taking it with our partners.” 

While employees may feel uneasy about their employers monitoring personal metrics, there can be benefits, according to Deloitte Insights. 

Citing Japan-based tech firm Hitachi, Deloitte noted last year that the company successfully experimented with boosting employee happiness levels using a wearable device and a mobile app, which provided employees with personalized suggestions for enhancing their happiness. The experiment’s results showed a 33% increase in the “psychological capital” of Hitachi employees, along with a 10% rise in profits, a 15% increase in retail sales and a 34% boost in sales per hour at call centers.

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Oura has unveiled its 2024 Year in Review, an in-depth look at the sleep, activity, recovery and stress resilience trends of its global community. The report aggregates insights from Oura members worldwide but also introduces personalized personality types based on health strengths: Earth (Resilience), Water (Sleep), and Fire (Activity). Oura’s data scientists analyzed de-identified, aggregated metrics collected from December 2023 through November 2024 to create the insights.

Global Sleep Trends

New Zealand led the pack with an impressive average Sleep Score of 79.8, closely followed by Australia (78.7), Sweden (78.5), Finland (78.4), and Austria (78.2). This trend highlights the sleep-centric lifestyles of Oceania and Scandinavia, regions known for their wellness-oriented cultures. The global mean Sleep Score across all Oura members was 77.0, reflecting a strong focus on nightly rest among users worldwide.

Most Active Nations

When it comes to movement, Ireland topped the charts, with members averaging just over 10,000 steps per day. Other European countries, including Estonia, Sweden, and the UK, were not far behind. The data points to Europe’s pedestrian-friendly infrastructure and active lifestyles as key factors in these high step counts. Research has long shown the cardiovascular and metabolic benefits of walking, with studies suggesting that even 7,000 steps per day can significantly enhance health.

Stress Levels

Interestingly, stress patterns varied widely. While Sundays recorded the least “stressed minutes,” Fridays, perhaps due to celebrations, ranked as the most stressful. The United States topped the list for average daily stressed minutes, followed by Norway and the Netherlands.

Introducing Health Personalities: Fire, Water & Earth

This year, Oura debuted Health Personality Types, offering members personalized insights into their strengths. Fire represents activity and includes members who consistently met their movement goals. Water reflects strong sleep habits, with members in this group prioritizing nightly rest. Earth symbolizes resilience: members who balance stress and recovery with ease. A small majority of members were characterized as Fire, demonstrating a commitment to being active.

Cardiovascular Age

Oura’s Cardiovascular Age (CVA) feature, launched in May 2024, estimates arterial health through pulse wave velocity (PWV). This metric revealed that members in Sweden and Norway had CVAs approximately 2.6 and 2.4 years below their chronological ages, reflecting exceptional cardiovascular health. The Netherlands, known for its cycling culture, also ranked highly in this category.

Oura members can find their personalized year in review in the app by navigating to the Today tab or accessing the Reports section in the menu. The latest Oura app version is required, and members with at least 60 days of data are eligible. Members can also share their achievements with friends and family by tapping the share icon within the app.

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High-intensity interval training (HIIT) may be poised for another breakthrough, while Pilates and strength training remain top-of-mind for fitness enthusiasts, according to a new report from smartwatch giant Garmin. 

Garmin has released its 2024 Garmin Connect Data Report, which reveals how Garmin users participated in health and fitness over the past year. The report offers some interesting insights – and perhaps a few surprises – for fitness operators and wellness enthusiasts.

Track running (+65%), HIIT (+56%) and Pilates (+42%) saw the highest year-over-year activity percentage increases, followed by e-bike riding (+38%) and indoor rock climbing (+31%).

Strength training also saw a healthy 25% year-over-year increase, which is unsurprising given the modality’s surge in popularity post-pandemic. 

Stairclimbing also saw a notable 25% increase, likely driven by the rise of glute training, especially among women. Breathwork logged a 19% year-over-year increase as fitness enthusiasts increasingly prioritize holistic wellness. 

Outdoor running (7%) and walking (6%) also saw modest year-over-year increases, showcasing the staying power of foundational fitness modalities. 

Pilates’ surge is notable, especially since Garmin users aren’t traditionally associated with the mind-body modality. One of the fastest-growing fitness modalities over the past few years, Pilates shows no signs of slowing down as franchise brands continue to expand and equipment makers release tech-forward spins on the modern Reformer experience. 

HIIT’s strong performance should bode well for large fitness operators like Barry’s and smaller boutiques alike, A recent report from Research and Markets projected high-intensity interval training to become the fastest-growing boutique fitness modality over the next five years, driven by its effectiveness for time-constrained exercisers. Studies like this one, meanwhile, have found that HIIT may reduce the risk of cognitive decline in seniors.

“This is the first study to our knowledge to identify that a HIIT paradigm for the healthy elderly is suitable and effective at significantly improving and retaining long-term hippocampal-dependent learning, for up to 5 years,” the study’s authors wrote.

Stepping to Better Health

Garmin’s 2024 report also offered insights into the general health and wellness patterns of people across the globe. 

The average Garmin user logged 8,317 steps per day in 2024, well above the worldwide average, which hovers around 5,000. Hong Kong users took the most steps on average, with 10,340, while Indonesians came in last, taking just 5,375 daily steps. 

Going Dutch? Netherlands Wins on Key Health Metrics

The Dutch have a reputation for leading a healthy lifestyle, which appears to be well-earned. Garmin users in the Netherlands had the highest average Body Battery level, a metric Garmin uses to measure personal energy levels based on factors like physical activity, stress, heart rate and sleep. 

The average Garmin user’s Body Battery level in the morning was 71, while those in the Netherlands had an average level of 74. Japan had the lowest average body batter level, coming in at just 66 in the morning. 

The Dutch also got the best sleep in 2024, with an average sleep score of 73, outpacing the worldwide average of 71. Indonesians had the lowest average sleep score of 64 (maybe they should walk more!).

South Korean Garmin users did the best at managing their stress, logging an average daily stress score of 28, ahead of the global average of 30. Malaysians had the highest stress scores of all Garmin users, coming in at 33. 

Surprisingly, across the board, Garmin users’ stress scores were lowest on Monday (29) and highest on Saturday (32). Garmin notes that might be due to “jitters” before a big race or event, which often takes place on the weekend.

Fountain of Youth

In terms of fitness, the average Garmin user’s “training readiness” score was 60, which equates to moderately prepared. Users in New Zealand were the most ready for training on average, while South Koreans tended to be the least prepared. 

Garmin users tend to be healthier than their biological age would suggest. According to the brand’s “fitness age” metric, Garmin users are, on average, 2.48 years younger than their actual age. Women were 1.94 years younger on average while men were 2.75 years younger than their actual ages. 

Garmin Eyes Healthcare

While Garmin has made a name for itself over the past two decades for its health and fitness wearables, the Kansas-based brand is also eyeing the healthcare space. 

Garmin executives believe smartwatches can become an integral part of modern healthcare by tracking metrics like stress, heart rate variability (HRV) and skin temperature, and feeding that data to healthcare professionals, who can then make more informed decisions on patient health.

Called, “smartwatch-enabled digital health,” Garmin is actively working to make this vision a reality. The company launched Garmin Health in 2014, growing it into a full-scale B2B solution for healthcare, research and clinical trials, insurance companies, gyms and fitness brands, corporate wellness and more. 

When it comes to smartwatches and healthcare, Garmin believes it has an advantage over other tech players like Apple and Samsung thanks to its open platform, the quality of its biometric data and the long battery life of its watches. 

“Garmin’s business strategy is to be an ecosystem player,” Scott Burgett, senior director of Garmin Health Engineering, told Athletech News earlier this year. “When you look at the breadth of our wearable products, the breadth of our data, and the ease of integration – we’re agnostic between iOS and Android – we really are the best company (to work with).”

To view the 2024 Garmin Connect Data Report in full, see here.

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Manual food logging could soon be in the past.

Imagine a wearable that automatically detects and analyzes what you’re eating and drinking throughout the day – that’s the concept behind Rex.fit’s The Drop, a device that has launched on Kickstarter as the world’s first fully automated wearable nutrition tracker.

Lightweight and able to be worn as either a pendant or by attaching it with a magnet, The Drop features a smart chip that automatically detects food intake and begins recording with a 4K smart AI camera while focusing on just the food. A cropped image is then sent to the cloud for analysis, where algorithms calculate the meal’s calories, proteins, fats, and carbs, syncing the data to a companion app. The images are then immediately deleted. 

Rex.fit founders Rangel Milushev and Ahmad Roumie, both with expertise in AI and computer vision and backed by incubators Y Combinator and Entrepreneur First, say the wearable solves the often painstaking task of logging every meal, snack or drink – which they point out can cause stress and cause an unhealthy relationship with food. 

“By introducing The Drop, we aim to create a new category of wearables—nutrition trackers—similar to fitness trackers and smartwatches,” Milushev, a graduate of Harvard, said. “Our vision is to empower users to effortlessly take control of their nutrition and health.”

Notably, the new wearable follows Rex.fit’s Rex Nutribot, a nutrition tracker that launched on WhatsApp last year and prompted the team to create a more advanced (and fully automated) nutrition tracker.

“We made calorie tracking as simple as sending a photo or a text to a friend,” the Rex.fit team noted of Nutribot on the Kickstarter page. “More than 20,000 users later, we learned that nutrition tracking is still not a solved problem. Every solution on the market requires too much input from the user, and most don’t manage to create the habit to track what they eat. A real solution needs to be as user-friendly and intuitive as fitness tracking is. It needs to be a wearable that you can just put on in the morning and forget about.”

The Drop includes a lifetime subscription to Rex Premium ($19.99 per month), which offers an AI-powered nutrition coach and integration with Apple Fitness and Google Fit, along with other popular trackers such as Oura, Garmin, Eight Sleep and more. The fully automated nutrition tracker ($199) is now accepting pre-orders and is available in metallic blue, matte black and gold. Additional colors will be available in the next iteration, according to the Rex.fit team.

While The Drop aims to solve consumer pain points in nutrition tracking, the wearable could also assist gyms, studios, health coaches and personal trainers in the future – especially as consumers have begun to expect hyper-personalized coaching. As of now, Rex.fit offers a white-label solution for its app, with customizable branding.

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Hertzman and Worthy also speak on Myzone’s origin and the increased understanding of the benefits that come with cooperation between wearable brands in the connected fitness arena. The pair also touch on the importance of doing artificial intelligence (AI) the right way and what Myzone’s future entails.

Watch the full interview for expert commentary on the following:

• Gamification in Fitness
• Building a loyal member base
• Ways to win the connected fitness game

Key Talking Points:

• (0:00 – 1:03 ) Introductions
• (1:03 – 4:02) Making fitness easy an enjoyable
• (4:02 – 8:21) Gamification as a motivator
• (8:21 – 10:50) How Myzone creates community
• (10:50 – 14:01) Going beyond just a wearable
• (14:01 – 16:09) Myzone in connected fitness
• (16:09 – 20:30) Leveraging AI
• (20:30 – 23:41) Enabling consistency with MEP
• (23:41 – 26:59) Looking ahead at 2025
• (26:59 – 27:50) Wrap-ip

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Wearable tech company Whoop has unveiled a new journal feature that’s raising some eyebrows: the ability to log ketamine, LSD, and psilocybin.

The new logging option comes at a pivotal time for the health and wellness industry, with an incoming administration and key players that are pro-psychedelics — Elon Musk has openly discussed using ketamine to treat depression, and Secretary of Health and Human Services nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has signaled a willingness to advance psychedelic medicine.

“Our legal team told us that we have to say this…We do not recommend the recreational use of these drugs, and we cannot tell you about potential health outcomes,” the human performance company captioned a social media post announcing the new journal add-on.

Whoop’s journal – which is a customizable self-reporting tool where users can log everything from medication (including GLP-1s, chemotherapy, COVID-19 vaccines, and boosters), menstruation, supplements, acupuncture, air travel, ice baths, injuries, and more — provides insights into how daily behaviors affect recovery, strain and sleep. Several of the available journal questions are hyper-specific — such as whether a Whoop user worked an on-call shift, parented a sick child, observed Ramadan, or had a dog in the room while sleeping.

While some commenters expressed skepticism of Whoop’s latest move—questioning how many Whoop users actually take psychedelics and criticizing the new feature from a health-focused company—others pointed out that data collection may help explore long-term effects, with many using the substances for therapeutic purposes.

Ketamine, in particular, was added to Whoop’s journal as an extension of its ongoing research with Stella Center, according to the Boston-based human performance company.

The two are collaborating on a study sponsored by the University of Queensland to observe the psychological and physiological effects of Stellate Ganglion Block (SGB). Although SGB is FDA-approved pain relief, it’s been used off-label to treat symptoms of PTSD, anxiety and depression. Study participants will wear a Whoop band for eight weights to measure changes in physiological changes in response to Stella’s SGB treatment protocol. Stella Center also offers IV Ketamine Infusion Therapy at some of its locations.

“At Whoop, we believe it is extremely important to remain on the cutting edge of treatments that may improve the lives of the millions currently struggling with trauma and mental health symptoms,” said Whoop’s Finn Fielding. “Working with Stella to examine the impacts of their procedures represents another step in achieving our mission of optimizing human health and performance.”

While some may be divided on Whoop’s latest move, the wearable company recently delivered a much-requested feature: the ability to track steps.

“Our members have increasingly requested steps, and we’ve been listening,” Whoop founder and CEO Will Ahmed told Athletech News. “This update allows us to provide a more complete picture of movement and activity throughout the day, in addition to strain and recovery data.”

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Alphabeats has partnered with EEG (electroencephalogram) headband maker Muse by Ineraxon, making its athlete-focused brain-training app available to Muse customers.

Through the partnership, Muse users can now access alphabeat’s membership-based, music-driven neurofeedback platform, which helps athletes and high-performers train their brains to enter the so-called “flow state” to improve creativity, recovery, focus, reaction time and coordination. 

A Dutch startup that’s raised $4.16 million to date, alphabeats makes an app that syncs with compatible EEG headbands. On the alphabeats app, users can select from a catalog of music, listening along as songs change in real-time based on EEG brainwave activity. This helps people train their brains to produce alpha waves, which have been associated with the flow state. 

Alphabeats also offers visual cues and cognitive games to encourage alpha brain wave production. 

“Music is the key to making mental training both effective and engaging – a finding we’ve proven with professional athletes over the past decade,” alphabeats CEO Jorrit DeVries said of the partnership. “Muse has built strong credibility through their affordable, high-quality hardware solutions. By integrating our one-of-a kind music-driven training with their platform, we can offer professional-grade mental training at a more accessible price point to more people.”

Part of Canadian neurotech company Interaxon, Muse makes two EEG headband products – the Muse S and the Muse 2 – that monitor brain activity and provide real-time feedback to users about their levels of focus, relaxation and stress.

In addition to its partnership with alphabeats, Muse announced a new “Brain Recharge Score” feature, which leverages AI and EEG data to offer personalized insights into mental stress and recovery. The Brain Recharge Score will become available this winter, Muse says. 

Muse’s neurofeedback tools have helped golfers improve their putting scores after just seven minutes of use, the company says, citing research from the University of Toronto. Alphabeats, for its part, cites research showing that its platform has helped Olympic-level archers and professional soccer players improve their abilities to enter optimal mental states for performance. 

“Our mission has always been to provide accessible tools for brain health, and by partnering with alphabeats, we’re able to offer users an integrated approach to both mental recovery and peak performance,” said Muse CEO Jean-Michel Fournier. “Partnerships like this extend Muse’s impact into new verticals, adding more value for our customers.”

Muse 2 headbands will now come bundled with an annual alphabeats subscription – the bundle is available for pre-order at a limited-time price of $199. The regular price will jump to $399 after the promo period ends. Additionally, existing Muse 2 and Muse S owners can purchase an alphabeats annual subscription for a promo price of $79. That subscription price will increase to $149 after the promo period ends. 

In October, alphabeats named DeVries, a former Spotify exec, as its CEO. DeVries told Athletech News that the Dutch startup is looking to make a bigger push into the United States wearable market, initially targeting athletes before expanding to everyday fitness and wellness consumers. 

“If we can prove with elite athletes that our system works and that we have the scientific proof and the testimonials to underpin our story, that will ultimately create a ripple effect for what we call the ‘high achievers,’ or the ‘everyday champions’ to tap into this as well,” DeVries said in October.

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Garmin has raised its full-year 2024 guidance following a solid third quarter, which included consolidated revenue of $1.59 billion—a 24% increase compared to the prior-year quarter.

Notably, Garmin’s fitness segment revenue rose 31% in Q3 across all categories, driven by strong demand for wearables. The tech company hosted its annual Garmin Health Summit in Prague during the quarter and celebrated the 10th anniversary of Garmin Health, which has grown into a B2B solution for healthcare, clinical trials, insurance companies, gyms and fitness brands and corporate wellness.

The Garmin Health Summit underscored the tech company’s vision – where fitness trackers and smartwatches are more than just high-tech wearables, but a crucial component in healthcare and a tool that gathers important patient information. 

In September, Garmin unveiled new updates to Garmin Coach, such as training plans for cyclists and announced upcoming new features, like race time prediction enhancements.

“We delivered another quarter of impressive financial results as our highly differentiated and innovative products resonate with customers, and we successfully leveraged growth opportunities across market segments and geographies,” Garmin president and CEO Cliff Pemble said. “We are raising our 2024 outlook based on the results we have achieved so far and the momentum we are experiencing as we enter the important holiday selling season.”

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Oura is going all-in on quality as it gears up to fight off competition from the likes of Samsung in the red-hot smart ring space. 

On Thursday, the Finnish brand unveiled the Oura Ring 4, which features new and improved sensors designed to offer more accurate readings, longer battery life, and increased comfort for wearers. 

The Oura Ring 4 is highlighted by Smart Sensing, with research-grade sensors housed inside the ring that adapt to the finger to deliver more accurate data for metrics including blood oxygen sensing, breathing, and heart rate. 

Thanks to Smart Sensing, Oura says the newest version of its ring offers notable improvements in overnight blood oxygen measurements (SpO2), breathing disturbance index (BDI), and daytime and nighttime heart-rate tracking. 

The smart sensors are recessed within the Oura Ring 4, which Oura says provides a more comfortable wear. In the Oura Ring Gen3, the previous model, the sensors were housed in a raised dome, meaning many users could feel the sensors while wearing the ring. 

Available for preorder now and set to start shipping October 15, the Oura Ring 4 will retail for between $349 and $499 depending on color and will offer up to eight days of battery life. 

Oura is also redesigning its app to provide users with a more streamlined overview of their overall health picture, including easy access to daily and long-term health metrics like stress and resilience, women’s health, and heart health.

“Oura Ring is designed to be a personal health companion, giving our members a holistic view of their health by pairing personal data with meaningful, actionable insights to facilitate long-term changes,” said Oura CEO Tom Hale. “The next-generation Oura Ring 4, reimagined Oura App, and the development of the Smart Sensing platform represent significant steps forward for wearables across accuracy, comfort, personalization, and design.”

Can Oura Stay on Top?

Oura, which has sold over 2.5 million rings worldwide and is nearing $500 million in annual revenue, has dominated the smart ring market since the brand was founded in 2013.

However, the space has become more crowded as of late, with new brands entering the market as demand rises for smart rings, which track a host of metrics including heart-rate variability (HRV), blood oxygen rate, body temperature, and sleep, and offer a lower profile than smartwatches. 

Samsung made headlines earlier this year when it launched its Galaxy Ring, packing it with features that make it a serious competitor to the Oura Ring. There are rumors that Apple could enter the smart ring space as early as 2025, although that’s still highly speculative. 

With the Oura Ring 4, the Finnish tech company appears to be leaning into its reputation as the “OG” in the smart ring space. With Smart Sensing, Oura wants to make it known that its rings provide the best and most accurate data on the market as users look to track their sleep, steps, and stress more than ever before. 

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Alphabeats, a Dutch startup that uses wearable tech and music-driven neurofeedback to help athletes improve their mental performance, is gearing up to conquer the American health and wellness market. 

After raising nearly $2 million in fresh funding, alphabeats has promoted chief commercial officer Jorrit DeVries to global CEO and is shifting its business headquarters from the Netherlands to Los Angeles. 

Han Dirkx, who had been serving as CEO, will now become chief operating officer, leading alphabeats’ product, research and development, and technology teams, which will stay based in the Netherlands.

DeVries, a former Spotify executive who joined alphabets in April, will head up the company’s LA office, where alphabeats will house its business operations teams as it pushes further into the United States. 

“I’m honored to take the reins at alphabeats at this pivotal moment,” DeVries said. “The convergence of wearable technology, neurofeedback advancements and the growing accessibility of elite performance tools creates a unique opportunity. I’m excited to build on the strong foundation laid by Han and the team, as we work towards our vision of making mental fitness achievable for everyone.”

A Wearable That Trains Your Brain

Alphabeats offers an EEG (electroencephalogram) headband and accompanying app, which are designed to help users produce more alpha brain waves. Often associated with being in a “flow state,” alpha waves are beneficial for creativity, recovery, deep focus, improved reaction time and motor coordination, making them sought after for athletic performance. 

To use the alphabeats platform, users strap on an EEG headband and a pair of headphones, then turn on the app. The app monitors users’ brain activity, providing real-time feedback through music, visual cues and cognitive games to help users train their brains to produce more alpha waves. 

For example, the app can take popular songs and change the soundtrack to correspond to changes in users’ brain waves. The more alpha waves a user produces, the more the soundtrack matches the actual song. Training sessions on alphabeats last around 10 minutes, with programs created specifically for states like focus, stress relief and rest/relaxation. 

With consistent training, alphabeats says users can learn to produce alpha waves whenever they want. For athletes, this can come in handy before key moments in a game or competition. 

An alphabeats membership is currently available for $149 per year or $15.99 per month. Users can purchase an EEG headband from BrainBit for $449, although the platform works with other compatible EEG headbands. 

To date, alphabeats has raised €3.75 million ($4.16 million), including a recent €1.75 million post-seed round led by Dutch venture capital firm DeepTech XL. The company also counts Netherlands-based firms Lumo Labs and HighTech XL among its investors. 

Alphabeats is actively looking to raise additional funds from American investors, DeVries tells Athletech News. 

Targeting Athletes, High-Performers

While it’s still very early days for the company, alphabeats has seen some initial success in the United States. It recently struck a partnership with USA Triathlon’s Project Podium, a program that trains young male athletes for the Olympics. Through the partnership, a select group of Project Podium athletes will integrate alphabeats into their daily training over three months. 

Alphabeats is also collaborating with Nationsbest Football, an organization that works with elite football players in the U.S. As part of that collaboration, 10 football players across pro, college and high school levels agreed to use alphabeats as part of their daily training. 

Alphabeats also counts Dewi Weber, a Dutch pro golfer playing on the LPGA Tour, among its users.

With DeVries as global CEO, alphabeats will look to strengthen its presence in the U.S. market by getting its mental performance system into the hands of as many athletes as possible.

To do so, alphabeats is shifting its business operations to Los Angeles, where it’s looking to hire for new positions including a chief marketing officer. According to DeVries, the company chose LA over other American cities because Southern California will play host to globally important upcoming sporting events including the 2026 World Cup and 2028 Summer Olympics. 

“It only makes sense for us to double down (here) and make sure this is the market where everything comes together,” DeVries told ATN. 

Eventually, DeVries sees a market for alphabeats that stretches beyond just athletes and into weekend warriors and everyday fitness enthusiasts – the same people that wear Apple Watches and Oura rings should, presumably, be interested in optimizing their brain function with an EEG headband. 

“If we can prove with elite athletes that our system works and that we have the scientific proof and the testimonials to underpin our story, that will ultimately create a ripple effect for what we call the ‘high achievers,’ or the ‘everyday champions’ to tap into this as well,” DeVries said. 

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