The wearable performance market is splitting in two: devices that estimate readiness from heart rate, sleep, and composite scores—and devices that measure what is actually happening inside working muscles. Two of the industry’s most prominent platforms are now publicly moving toward the second camp, validating a direction NNOXX identified and began building around years ago. The question is no longer whether local muscle measurements will matter. It’s who gets there first with a defensible product.
NNOXX was already positioned around muscle oxygenation and performance readiness well before these recent moves. The company’s near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) platform measures SmO₂ and related biomarkers directly at the tissue level—and is the only consumer wearable that also measures bioactive nitric oxide, a vascular signaling molecule linked to blood flow and exercise performance. The full stack—hardware, firmware, algorithms, and an AI-powered training and coaching platform—is integrated and consumer-ready.
The validation signals are specific and recent. This past week, Gadgets & Wearables reported that a leading wearable company has filed a “Muscle Battery” trademark referencing a software algorithm for capturing and analyzing muscle oxygen saturation in wearable devices—but realizing it would require dedicated NIRS sensor hardware the company does not appear to have. Days earlier, the same outlet reported that another major wearable maker was granted a patent for a multi-position body sensor with pressure-sensitive optical sensing for SmO₂, hemoglobin, tissue perfusion, and blood flow across thigh, chest, arm, and waist placements. Both filings confirm that major incumbents are moving toward the capability NNOXX has been building around for years. Neither represents a shipping product.
NNOXX has the product. The NNOXX One has been peer-reviewed and clinically validated at The Martinos Center at MGH, which is affiliated with Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), against lab-grade frequency-domain NIRS in endurance athletes. The company holds an allowed U.S. optical patent with a growing global portfolio covering spectrometry systems and methods for muscle oxygenation, hemoglobin concentration, blood volume, local muscle oxygen consumption, bioactive nitric oxide, and exercise guidance. Beneath the IP sits years of accumulated trade secrets in optics, calibration, and physiological modeling that cannot be reproduced from public filings. A well-resourced competitor could assign a large engineering team to this problem and still face years of iteration on sensor hardware, signal extraction from living tissue, and the algorithm development required to turn raw optical data into reliable, athlete-facing metrics. NNOXX has already done that work.
The broader market reinforces the urgency. Several well-funded wearable and health platforms are pushing toward richer physiological measurement from different angles. No major smartwatch maker has announced native muscle-specific NIRS hardware. The category is forming around a capability none of the incumbents currently ship, and the window to lead it is closing.
“We’ve been saying for years that the market would move toward direct muscle physiology,” said Justin Saul, CEO of NNOXX. “The recent patent and trademark filings from major incumbents validated that publicly. We built NNOXX for exactly this moment, and our platform gives a strategic partner the fastest and most defensible path to own this category.”
NNOXX is currently in active discussions with several companies to explore strategic alternatives, including partnerships and acquisition.
For boards and executive teams evaluating performance wearables, connected fitness, digital health, or rehabilitation technology: the question is no longer whether muscle oxygen measurement becomes standard. The largest players in the industry have answered that with their own filings. The question is who controls the measurement layer when it does.
Acquiring or partnering with NNOXX delivers a defensible lead in the highest-value segment of wearable performance—a premium measurement tier no current competitor can match, backed by a platform that extends into rehabilitation, return-to-play, military readiness, clinical fitness, and medical monitoring. The window is open. It will not stay open long.
About NNOXX
NNOXX is advancing physiological measurement through a wearable near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) platform that measures muscle oxygenation (SmO₂), bioactive nitric oxide, and related biomarkers at the tissue level. Paired with an AI-powered training and coaching platform, NNOXX delivers real-time, muscle-specific insights for performance, recovery, and health.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260414767726/en/
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