BioBeats, a data analytics startup that assesses consumer-grade wearables data to generate health insights, raised $2.28 million as it rolls out its stress assessment app Hear and Now, according to a story by TechCrunch.
White Cloud Capital led the fundraise, and AXA Strategic Ventures and IQ Capital, also took part in the round.
BioBeats claims that machine learning is part of its analytics tool and that’s one thing that separates it from the likes of Ginger.io, which bases its behavioral health conclusions, in part, on how frequently people use their phones. The TechCrunch article noted that several companies in the U.S. and UK are piloting its app. In addition to determining how stressed employees are, it uses visuals and music to alleviate stress.
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It’s interesting that BioBeats is moving into the employer wellness market, given the angst CEO and Co-founder David Plans expressed last year about the potential risk of giving companies such as insurers access to insights on employees’ health. Still, he also noted that real-time decision-making based on biometric data can have positive implications in how we look at wellness in the future.
An underlying challenge analytics companies like Biobeats face is that the data from consumer wearables varies in accuracy and reliability, and many lack clinical validation. That raises questions about how accurate the analytics tools to assess that data can be.
Photo: Flickr user Neil Moralee
