Fitness wearable company Whoop is set to introduce a significant new feature for its United States users: on-demand access to licensed clinicians directly through its app. This offering, slated for a summer launch, will allow members to engage in video consultations with healthcare professionals.
The new service is part of a broader suite of health and artificial intelligence-driven features being rolled out globally. These enhancements aim to bridge the gap between continuous biometric data collected by Whoop devices and real-time medical guidance. While many of these new features are included as part of the standard membership fee, the live video consultations for U.S. users will incur an additional cost, with specific pricing details to be announced closer to the launch.
Ed Baker, Whoop's chief product officer, emphasized the company's commitment to its membership model, stating that the new features represent some of the most valuable additions to the platform to date. "Whoop is a membership, and we take that seriously," Baker said in a press release. "We're always asking how we can deliver more value to our members, and these upcoming features are some of the most meaningful we've ever built."
Whoop, which boasts a global user base exceeding 2.5 million, recently secured $575 million in funding in March, elevating its valuation to $10.1 billion. This financial milestone underscores the company's growth and investor confidence.
The medical consultation process will commence with a thorough review of the data gathered by the Whoop device, supplemented by any available blood work and the user's medical history, according to the company's announcement. A Whoop spokesperson clarified to CNBC that the video consultation feature is intended to supplement, rather than replace, a user's existing healthcare providers, including primary care physicians and emergency services.
Details regarding the service's ability to prescribe medication were not immediately available, with the company stating that such information is "not available at this time."
Whoop CEO Will Ahmed highlighted the evolution of the company's offerings. "As our data and coaching insights have become more advanced and personalized, the next step is giving members access to a comprehensive understanding of their overall health," Ahmed told CNBC.
In conjunction with these new features, Whoop is partnering with health records platform HealthEx. This collaboration will enable users to manage diagnoses, medications, and medical procedures directly within the Whoop app. Furthermore, users will benefit from AI-powered personalized coaching and proactive health check-in reminders.
This development follows a warning letter issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) less than a year ago concerning Whoop's Blood Pressure Insights feature. The FDA had previously stated that Whoop was marketing an unauthorized medical device for disease diagnosis and treatment. However, new FDA guidance released in January now permits optical sensing blood pressure measurements in wellness devices, provided they do not make medical-grade diagnostic claims.
