Venture capitalists are minting decacorns at a record pace, and some startups reach decacorn status literally overnight. The text reports that the average time from a startup's launch to reaching decacorn status has been cut nearly in half.
Whoop closes a $575 million Series G round at a $10.1 billion valuation, nearly triple its previously reported $3.6 billion valuation. Led by Collaborative Fund, the round includes sovereign wealth funds, health institutions, and athlete investors; CEO Will Ahmed says the company exited last year with a $1.1 billion bookings run rate, up 103% year over year, and plans to invest in hiring, marketing, research and development, and international expansion.
Whoop opens Advanced Labs, its blood-testing service, to a reported 350,000-person waitlist. The service offers Quest Diagnostics blood tests covering markers such as calcium and white blood cells, and combines results with the band’s monitoring of activity, sleep, respiratory rate, and blood pressure to provide personalized wellness advice. Annual testing costs $199 for one test, $349 for two, or $599 for four.
