Athos, a unique fitness apparel line that communicates exercise stats to your smartphone, has recently secured $12.2 million of additional funding to test out their first line of apparel. Athos raised $35.5 million in total with financing from multiple investors including Social+Capital.
Wearable technology is undeniably becoming a new industry in sports science. Athos is the first brand producing actual clothing instead of just a fitness watch or a chest strap. The athletic clothing communicates with the blue tooth core device to show how muscles are interacting with each other while exercising. The core connects to the user’s pants or shirt and reads all the signals from the clothing sensors to send. It then sends the stats to the free phone app via Bluetooth.
Athos believes their technology is a great way to improve athletic training as well as prevent injury. Non-professional athletes can individualize their workouts and see results at the same time. After completing a calibration with the core device, users select their training goal such as “get stronger” or “core burn”. When the workout routine is over, the app allows users to compare sets and to overall see if they are getting stronger.
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The yellow, orange, and red indicators on the app show how much loading occurs on the muscles that are engaged. The stats also tell the user if the load on the muscles is equal on both sides to prevent one leg or one arm compromising for another muscle. The features aim to accomplish the company’s two goals: To help athletes perform better and to avoid injury by better understanding the nuances of their workouts.
“You’ll see us continue to iterate rapidly on both the software and hardware to continue to push the boundaries and set the standard in smart clothing,” Athos CEO Dhananja Jayalath told TechCrunch. “You’ll see new garments that will fit better, look better and perform better. And you’ll see our software evolve to deliver incredibly powerful yet simple insights customized to your goals.”
The technology essentially aims to provide a new look inside your muscles. The clothing sensors use electromyography (EMG), which reads the electrical activity when your muscles are active in exercise. Normal EMG data is exclusive to research laboratories and professional athletes. The EMG data enables users to alter and improve function by activating the right muscles in the correct sequence.
The innovative clothing is a lot cheaper than hiring a sports science team. The Athos Core device is a one-time purchase of $199. Clothing ranges from $99 to $199.
CEO Jayalath believes Athos could build its brand to be a competitive leading brand like Nike. “We’re going to try and build a Nike killer,” said Jayalath. “Are humans and individuals satisfied with a waffle sole and an air pocket?”
Jayalath added, “We want to crush them.” Though Athos is years behind Nike, the wearable technology provides a unique exercise process for users that will maximize efficiency.