The financing included existing and new investors. Institutional backers were Shorewind Capital, Great Oaks Venture Capital, Oregon Sports Angels and White Road Investments. Other participants included the family office of CLIF Bar’s founders, 23andMe founder Anne Wojcicki, DAZN founder Len Blavatnik and owners of the Blues, Celtics, Orioles, Boston Legacy FC and Texas Rangers.
Nix Health represents a shift from the company’s sweat-collecting wearable, which has largely been adopted by endurance athletes, toward hydration recommendations that do not require a sweat sensor. The planned launch would make the algorithms available for integration with popular wearables.
Founder and chief executive Meridith Cass said the company accelerated its use of artificial intelligence to develop the algorithms. According to Cass, its dataset has become large enough to reliably predict when a person will begin sweating, their sweat rate and the electrolyte content of that sweat.
The predictions use information about the individual, including age, gender and weight, together with the type, duration and intensity of an activity. Environmental inputs include temperature and humidity. The technology remains in testing with beta partners.
Nix’s existing enterprise business, Nix Pro, serves sports teams, military users and occupational safety groups. Cass said that business grew 93% last year and another 42% so far this year. Publicly identified users include LSU Football, Bay FC, Chicago Fire, USA Triathlon, US Speedskating and EF Pro Cycling. Nix Solo is the company’s direct-to-consumer product.
Its advisers include Bob Murray, co-founder and former director of the Gatorade Sports Science Institute; Matt Frakes, director of performance nutrition for the NFL’s Giants; and Tatyana McFadden, a winner of 24 major marathons in the women’s wheelchair division.
Murray, who now runs Sports Science Insights, praised the rigor of Nix’s early testing. He said developing the original device without a comparable predecessor had required substantial scientific work.
The company is also developing proofs of concept for monitoring biomarkers beyond hydration, including lactate, cortisol, glucose, vitamin D, testosterone and estrogen. Cass said potential areas of development are assessed for their relevance to consumers, their everyday usefulness and whether the resulting information can support meaningful action.