Fitbit integrating Sickweather illness forecasting into new wearables
May 10, 2018 | Tommy Felts
Sickweather is stepping into the wearables market. A new partnership with industry leader Fitbit is expected to see the Kansas City-based startup’s illness forecasting technology integrated into Fitbit’s new products.
“Smartwatches provide a powerful platform to deliver important health tools that help our users manage conditions more conveniently than ever before,” said James Park, co-founder and CEO of Fitbit.
Sickweather is one of eight partner technologies announced this week by Fitbit.
“It’s great validation from Fitbit as a leader in digital health and among a cohort of trusted brands like Walgreens and Humana,” said Sickweather founder Graham Dodge. “It does impact our trajectory too, given some of the ideas they have workshopped with us on how best to engage their users, which could have profound impacts across our other products and partnerships.”
Created by a team of epidemiologists, Sickweather monetizes its platform by selling data licenses to public health organizations and a variety of enterprises. It also offers clients a dashboard that provides detailed analytics, data export tools and interactive forecasts.
When the Sickweather integration launches — as early as this summer, according to Fitbit — users will engage with a new clock face display, said Dave Switzer, Sickweather director of client and media relations.
“The addition of Sickweather app to the Fitbit lineup allows the users to get a SickScore for their current location along with top trending illnesses in that area with just a glance at their wrist,” he said. “That’s a big part of Sickweather’s mission — helping people make informed decisions about their health by providing hyperlocal health information.”
“Together, we aim to inspire positive behavior change that can ultimately improve health outcomes and reduce costs,” Park said.
In February, Sickweather closed a SeedInvest crowdfunding campaign with more than $1 million committed by more than 930 investors. Sickweather backers already included Kansas City-based Firebrand Ventures, Brad Feld, 500 Startups, Techstars Ventures and Sprint.
Very cool to see @FirebrandVC and @Techstars company @Sickweather included in the @fitbit announcement about new health-related apps and clock faces. https://t.co/lYG2ZJghbD
— John Fein (@johnfein) May 9, 2018
Featured Business
2018 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Torch.AI acquisition boosts its national security thumbprint, building out workforce proudly in KC
Leveraging Torch.AI’s local talent alongside targeted acquisitions gets the Leawood artificial intelligence firm closer to its goal of securely sharing data with the world, said Brian Weaver, founder and CEO, committing to keeping the surging company in Kansas City. “As our technology is being adopted by more and more customers and those customers continue to…
Not too late for the ‘naughty’ list: Roll into 2022 with a year-round Kansas City bourbon ball
A nip of locally distilled Tom’s Town bourbon mingles with bittersweet chocolate and a bourbon pecan mash with each bite into “guilty pleasure” — one of dozens of “notoriously naughty” bourbon and rum balls made by Lisa Fitch. “A lot of people associate them with the holidays, like they do with divinity fudge,” explained Fitch, founder…
The future is local: How masks helped neighbors look each other in the eyes again
Editor’s note: The opinions expressed in this commentary are the author’s alone. Keith Bradley is co-owner of Made in KC, a brick-and-mortar and online retailer of locally made goods with neighborhood, marketplace and cafe locations downtown, on the Country Club Plaza, in Lee’s Summit, Lenexa, and across the metro. As we wind down our second…
RIP to free chips and salsa: Why Don Chilitos just released the KC Tex-Mex staple’s secret family recipes
Don Chilitos might have served its last bit of CCQ sauce — but that doesn’t mean its final customers had to settle for a handful of chiclets as a memento on their way out the door, Barry Cowden said, explaining his decision to go public with dozens of recipes from the beloved restaurant in a newly…