RocketBody, an app for the Apple Watch that uses ECG data and machine learning to guide workouts, has raised $1 million in new funding from Gagarin Capital and AltaIR Capital.

WHAT THEY DO

RocketBody is the product of Kickstarter and IndieGoGo campaigns that raised roughly $70,000 for its pitch of a $109 ECG wearable back in 2018. The readings from this device would inform an artificial intelligence companion app that would derive changes in the wearer’s metabolic rate and offer relevant fitness and training recommendations.

Since the release of the Apple Watch Series 4, however, the startup has pivoted to releasing an app version of its vision that’s relies on the Watch’s onboard ECG sensor. Once users manually transfer these readings into the subscription app, the service develops personalized cardio and strength workouts as well as other assistance with dieting and sleep.

WHAT IT’S FOR

The company wrote in its announcement that the new funds will be used to improve user retention and hammer out the monetization of its app.

MARKET SNAPSHOT

While RocketBody is noteworthy in its ECG-based approach, smartwatch fitness offerings have been around since well before the first Apple Watch — in fact, Asus announced a fitness watch with a built-in ECG tracker just yesterday.

Meanwhile, others like AliveCor and Cardiogram have long been focused on combining AI with ECG or other heart readings derived from wearables to inform cardio health management.

ON THE RECORD

“Last year, nearly 1.8 billion health and fitness apps were downloaded, as people all over the world turn their attention towards losing weight and staying fit. But far too often, the road to fitness isn’t just challenging, but wrought with injuries. People don’t know how to ensure recovery,” RocketBody CEO Tim Lipsky said in a statement. “I know this firsthand; I was a pro athlete until I got injured. Offering smarter, better, custom training is why RocketBody was born, and what sets us apart from the rest of the market.”