workers who have jobs that are physically demanding and potentially dangerous—think construction workers, airline pilots, truck drivers, and machine operators. There could be value in knowing “how rested—not to mention awake” a truck driver is, for example, Negroponte says. Perhaps it could help prevent accidents. Ahmed says Whoop is evaluating these potential applications of its technology, but the company is not actively selling to truck drivers and the other workforces Negroponte mentioned.
Ahmed says Whoop’s research has found that its devices can help users get more sleep, lower their resting heart rate, and incur fewer injuries, among other physiological improvements. The company has also seen correlations between improved physiological metrics and better athletic performance, he says. Whoop hasn’t published any research in peer-reviewed medical journals, but Ahmed says it plans to do so. So far, it has posted a series of white papers and case studies on its website.
If Whoop is successful, Ahmed envisions it one day becoming a source of de-identified user data that researchers, doctors, and others would pay to access—“like a Bloomberg terminal for human performance,” he says.
“We’ll begin with the best athletes in the world,” he says. “We’ll eventually transfer to a wider audience.”
