ATHOS, a leading innovator in next generation wearable sensors and performance apparel, announced that it has closed $12.2 million in Series B financing. The round was led by DCM, with participation from True Ventures, Managing Partner and Chairman of the Golden State Warriors Joe Lacob, NBA All-Star Jermaine O’Neal and existing investor, The Social+Capital Partnership.
“When I saw ATHOS for the first time, my immediate thought was how much more longevity it can give athletes by allowing us to train smarter and prevent injury through a better understanding and fine tuning of our bodies.”
ATHOS will use the investment to further commercialize its product and invest in scaling manufacturing and marketing efforts. Available this fall, it is the first fitness apparel line able to collect and analyze muscle activity and effort, as well as heart and breathing rates – giving people a real-time picture of their workout performance.
Along with premier investors, ATHOS has also signed agreements with two Tier 1 manufacturers including a multi-billion dollar garment manufacturer whose biggest clients include some of the best-known sportswear companies. as well as one of the leading hardware manufacturers in the world. Together with ATHOS, these manufacturers have developed a revolutionary manufacturing process to create high-quality sensors integrated into clothing in a way that has never been done before.
“As we think about the future of the fitness and apparel industry, no one has successfully cracked the ability to measure total body behavior including muscle movement, and then translated that into actionable insight,” said Pete Moran, General Partner, DCM. “ATHOS is breaking new ground in this arena, and soon, this kind of intelligence will be the ‘new normal’ in a consumer’s mind.”
Designed to be not only functional but also comfortable and stylish, the new ATHOS apparel line uses small sensors that are neatly built into compression clothing and communicate directly with a consumer’s smartphone to give the wearer real-time feedback on their workout.
“ATHOS’ unique performance apparel is completely changing the way we train the human body,” said Joe Lacob, Managing Partner and Chairman, Golden State Warriors. “Whether you are a professional athlete or just aspiring to be in better shape, accurate and visual data can boost your training and make your training more effective. With ATHOS, we will have a complete view of the body in action – muscle movement, effort, calories burned, heart rate target zones and more – giving athletes instantaneous insight without disrupting their workouts.”
This announcement comes at a time when consumer interest in sports and fitness apparel is growing worldwide. According to Boston-based research firm Trefis, the global sports apparel market is set to grow to $178 billion by 2019.
