GoQii bags funding from Neeraj Arora of WhatsApp and Marco Argenti of Amazon
GoQii is a wearable technology company that is building a healthcare ecosystem. The company was started by serial entrepreneur and investor, Vishal Gondal (read full story). The startup had already raised funding from some prominent personalities like Google Senior Vice President Amit Singhal, Flextronics CEO Mike McNamara, among others and has now announced additional funding from Neeraj Arora who is the business development head at Whatsapp and Marco Argenti who is the vice president of mobile at AWS.
The funding will be used to develop a stronger technology platform, expand to the Middle East by next month and the US by December this year. Building the brand and marketing is also a focus area for GoQii at the moment (source). GoQii integrates wearable technology, expert-led personalized coaching and elements of social philanthropy to encourage users to make a sustainable shift towards a healthier and more fulfilling lifestyle. GOQii intends to bring together the ‘human factor’ which is often the most crucial element for lasting lifestyle change. A GOQii personal coach works with the user’s data to provide customized advice on a regular basis, and keeps the user motivated and on track to success by goal reinforcement.
Watch Hemant, the Creative Head of GOQii and Tany Kumar Director of UX talk about their thoughts on the GoQii Design:
The founder, Vishal Gondal has a stellar track record with IndiaGames being his biggest success. The company apparently got a $100 million exit when it got acquired by Walt Disney in 2011. GoQii was started earlier this year in February and the abnd was launched in August. GoQii offers two subscription models that cost INR 6,999 and INR 11,999 for the half-yearly and yearly packages respectively.
One of the bigger differentiators for GoQii are the Karma Points, a virtual currency for philanthropy and the human connection, by enabling the GOQii coach to remotely vibrate the band to motivate the user. The company is partnering with Oxfam India, a member of an international confederation of 17 organizations working in more than 90 countries, to find solutions to poverty and injustice around the world.
Wearables is an upcoming (see companies like Wello and Get Active) but a very niche segment in India. GoQii is headquartered in California with offices in Mumbai and Shenzhen but its first focus has been India. GoQii had exclusively tied up with SnapDeal to launch the band in India. The fresh round of funding helps to get more firepower to GoQii and take the concept further.
Website: GoQii