The fitness and sports training industry is constantly evolving, yet the lack of innovative training equipment other than traditional fitness equipment is creating a significant gap in the market. While treadmills and weight machines are common and effective for increasing strength, they cannot help athletes and fitness enthusiasts measure and improve important performance metrics such as agility, reflexes, and stamina.

This gap in the market represents an opportunity for innovation, especially for those looking to improve athletic performance in a more subtle and measurable way. Moreover, existing tools for tracking and improving athletic performance lack the ability to provide the detailed, real-time data athletes need to optimize their training. The lack of a comprehensive tool that can project, track, and analyze movements to inform athletes about their form, speed, reaction time, and accuracy highlights a major shortcoming in sports technology.

This limitation not only affects athletes' ability to make informed decisions about training, but also limits their ability to achieve optimal performance levels. As the demand for sports technology in India increases, the need for a device that addresses these specific training aspects becomes more apparent, indicating a huge opportunity in the fitness sector.

To fill this gap, Chahil Patel and Hitharth Parekh launched Hyperlab, an Ahmedabad-based startup that built Helios, which uses a laser pointer to help athletes and fitness enthusiasts measure strength, reflexes and stamina.

Founders

Hyperlab is a Shark Tank India featured startup founded in January 2022 by Hitharth Parikh and Chahi Patel. He is an industrial designer focused on integrating technology and sports at the grassroots level. Prior to founding HyperLab, Parikh worked as a product designer at Studio Carbon but left the company in May 2021.

On the other hand, Chahil Patel, the current Head of Research and Development at Hyperlab, has an engineering degree in Information Technology, Electronics and Communication. He was previously associated with Studio Carbon as Head of Research and Development. Hyperlab's journey began in 2021 when Hitharth Parikh teamed up with technology professional Chahil Patel to innovate the fitness space. Parikh's personal experience in sports and a recognized gap in the market for advanced fitness equipment that can measure agility, reflexes and stamina beyond traditional gym equipment led to their collaboration.

What is Hyperlab?

HyperLab is a startup focused on developing cutting-edge sports technology. Its flagship product, Helios, is a smart robot designed to improve athletic performance by projecting laser points for athletes to follow, thereby tracking and analyzing their movement patterns. This data-driven approach helps athletes improve their form, speed, reaction time and accuracy.

Helios has the ability to provide comprehensive datasets about an athlete's performance, offering insights into agility, stamina and reflexes. A significant improvement over existing fitness equipment, it also focuses primarily on strength development. Heliosin's distinct selling point compared to competitors like BlazePod is its larger datasets, making the product a more comprehensive training tool.

Manufacturing locally

The approach to manufacture the startup's flagship product, Helios, entirely in India stems from a strategic decision to avoid the complexities and uncertainties of a global supply chain. The company wants to ensure smooth manufacturing processes, fast market response times, and a sustainable business model that supports local industries and maintains tight control over the supply chain. Hyperlabs manufactures mechanical parts in Ahmedabad, while electronic components such as stepper motors, lidar systems, laser units and controller units are assembled at the Gandhinagar unit.

LIDAR technology is critical to accurately tracking athletes' movements, while laser systems project clear, consistent laser points necessary for agility and reflex training. Controller units, the brains of the operation, control the device's operations and process data. By manufacturing these components in India, HyperLab is able to maintain the highest levels of quality control, ensuring that each Helios device meets its strict performance standards. The decision to avoid importing parts is driven by several important considerations.

First, it allows HyperLab to have full control over its supply chain, mitigating the risks of delays and disruptions associated with international logistics. Second, local production enables HyperLab to ensure the highest levels of quality assurance, as each component can be closely monitored and tested to meet the exact requirements of the startup.

In addition, by supporting the local economy, HyperLab not only supports the growth of Indian businesses, but also promotes innovation and employment opportunities in the technology and manufacturing sectors. Finally, this approach gives HyperLab the flexibility to quickly iterate on product improvements and respond to customer feedback.

Business modelBusiness model

HyperLab works on a B2B model by partnering with organizations like gymnasiums, fitness centers and sports clubs. A partnership with the Sports Authority of India is also being explored. For institutional customers, the Helios is priced between Rs 30,000 and Rs 45,000, while individual customers can buy it for Rs 45,000. Currently, Hyperlab is bootstrapped and featured in Shark Tank India Season 3.

Future plans

HyperLab aims to sell at least 3,000 devices by the end of 2024, and is developing specific devices for swimming, football and cricket to suit the specific dimensions of the sport. The team's goal is to build a comprehensive product line that solidifies HyperLab's foundation in the sports technology market. While the startup primarily competes with US-based BlazePod, HyperLab's Helios stands out because it offers the ability to provide more advanced data for athletic training.

According to a Statista report, the total revenue of the health & fitness market in India is expected to reach $19.24 million in 2022. It is expected to grow at a compound annual rate (CAGR 2022-2027) of 11.57%, contributing to the expected market volume. $31.97 million by 2027.