Humanfab

What Humanfab does

HumanFab is a French human-performance science and innovation company founded in 2008 by Jean-Bernard Fabre as ESP-Consulting and rebranded in 2019. Headquartered in a 1,100 m² expertise center in Aix-en-Provence with a second location opened on the Champs-Élysées in Paris in 2020, the company operates three interconnected pillars: sport (physical testing, training, and recovery), health (medical-sport and rehabilitation services), and Industries (scientific evaluation and R&D services for industrial clients).

The company's core technology is the HumanLab, a multidisciplinary testing platform that integrates physiology, biomechanics, and neuroscience through instruments including 3D motion analysis, force platforms, EMG, EEG, NIRS, metabolic gas analyzers, isokinetic ergometers, IMUs, and thermal cameras. A multidisciplinary team of 52 experts — spanning physicians, PhD researchers, engineers, sports coaches, physiotherapists, and software developers — operates this platform to deliver both B2C services (athletic testing, coaching subscriptions, rehabilitation programs) and B2B R&D contracts with industrial clients in mobility, sports equipment, health technology, and workplace wellness. Marquee industrial clients include FORVIA, Faurecia, Airbus, Decathlon, Babolat, On, The North Face, Lacoste, LPG, Hologic, CMA CGM, and Bridor.

HumanFab monetizes through three streams: project-based scientific evaluation and product validation services for industry; subscription and per-session coaching, training, and rehabilitation programs at its two physical centers; and licensing of proprietary digital products (HumanFab Workcare enterprise wellness app, Racket Selector retail kiosk, and the ASANA smart-seat system co-developed with FORVIA). Two patents have been granted in sports equipment and mobility, and the company holds GDPR-compliant data residency within the EU. It is a privately held SAS with €1,100,000 share capital, no disclosed external funding, and is wholly controlled by its founder.

Name

Humanfab

Legal name

ESP CONSULTING – HUMANFAB

Website

https://humanfab.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

HumanFab is a French human-performance science company operating sport, health, and R&D centers in Aix-en-Provence and Paris, combining multidisciplinary physiology, biomechanics, and neuroscience testing to serve elite athletes, industrial clients, and enterprise workplace wellness buyers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sports Science and Human Performance Services

NAICS

Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers (713940), Testing Laboratories and Services (54138), Scientific Research and Development Services (5417)

SIC

Services-Testing Laboratories (8734), Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro primary industry

Sports Medicine, Athletic Training & Rehabilitation Services (EDALAIAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Chronic Condition Lifestyle Coaching (Non-Clinical) (HSADAGAH)

Keywords

• Sports performance testing
• Human factors research
• Workplace wellness programs
• Biomechanical evaluation services
• Athlete training services

Headquarters

HQ city

Aix-en-provence

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Scientific Evaluation Services for Industry: HumanFab Industries provides scientific evaluation, R&D, and product validation services to industrial and equipment manufacturer clients. Programs are conducted in the HumanLab in laboratory and/or field conditions, serving clients in mobility, sports equipment, health technology, and workplace wellness sectors. Revenue is generated through project-based scientific service contracts of varying duration.
2. Sports Performance Center Services: B2C and B2B services including physical testing, athletic training, recovery programs, coaching subscriptions, and training camps delivered at HumanFab centers in Aix-en-Provence and Paris. Revenue includes membership/subscription fees and per-session charges.
3. Digital Product Licensing (Workcare, Racket Selector): Commercialized digital applications (HumanFab Workcare) and spin-off products generating recurring licensing revenue. Workcare is marketed to enterprise clients for employee wellness programs, while Racket Selector targets sports retail environments.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

HumanFab is a multidisciplinary sport, health, and human engineering center delivering physical testing, athletic training, recovery, and rehabilitation services to athletes and patients at its Aix-en-Provence and Paris centers, alongside HumanFab Industries which provides scientific evaluation, R&D, and product validation services to industrial clients (mobility, sports equipment, health technology, workplace wellness). The company also commercializes proprietary digital applications (HumanFab Workcare, Racket Selector, ASANA smart seat) derived from its 12-year performance data lake.

Product overview

HumanFab operates as a multi-service sports science and innovation company with three interconnected divisions: Sport (centers offering physical testing, training, and recovery services), Health (medical-sport services with rehabilitation), and Industries (R&D services for product evaluation and development). The product portfolio includes digital applications derived from collected data: HumanFab Workcare (corporate wellness and MSD prevention app with Smart Coach), Racket Selector (intelligent tennis equipment selection kiosk), and Asana Forvia (smart seat co-developed with FORVIA). All products leverage HumanFab's scientific expertise and databases from physical testing and performance analysis.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• HumanFab Workcare: Digital intelligent service for improving employee health, wellbeing, and reducing musculoskeletal disorders (TMS). Includes Smart Coach feature and a mobile application.
• Racket Selector
• Asana Forvia / HumanFab

Products and services

• HumanFab Industries R&D and Scientific Evaluation Services Scientific evaluation, R&D, and product validation services delivered to industrial and equipment manufacturer clients. Programs combine laboratory and field testing across mobility, sports equipment, health technology, and workplace wellness, with study durations of 2-5 months (product evaluation) or 6-12 months (R&D studies) and cohorts of 10-100+ participants. Targeted at enterprise R&D, innovation, and product teams.
• Personalized Coaching Programs One-on-one and small-group personalized sports coaching delivered at HumanFab centers in Aix-en-Provence and Paris. Includes initial fitness and functional assessment, one-hour personalized sessions, and access to recovery space. Subscription packages range from 10 sessions over 6 months to unlimited sessions over 12 months. Targeted at amateur and elite athletes.
• Adapted Physical Activity (APA) Programs Adapted physical activity programs delivered as health passports: metabolic diseases (24 APA sessions over 3 months), cancer passport (24 APA sessions over 3 months), and pregnancy+ passport (24 adapted sessions over 3 months). Targeted at patients with specific health conditions requiring supervised physical activity.
• Rehabilitation and Reathletization Combined physiotherapy and sports coaching program for injury rehabilitation and return-to-sport, delivered as 10 combined sessions (2x30 minutes with physiotherapist and sports coach). Targeted at injured athletes requiring structured recovery and return to performance.
• Training Camps Multi-day immersive training camps at the Aix-en-Provence center, offered in 3, 5, or 10 day formats including accommodation and meals at partner hotels. Targeted at athletes seeking intensive periodized training blocks.
• HumanFab Workcare Intelligent digital enterprise service that improves employee fitness, well-being, and reduces musculoskeletal disorders (MSD). Evaluates functional health of employees, defines MSD and sedentary risk indexes, and delivers personalized training programs through a smartphone application powered by the proprietary Smart Coach algorithm (100,000+ data points). Licensed to enterprise clients for employee wellness programs.
• Racket Selector Intelligent touchscreen kiosk solution deployed in sports retail environments to recommend tennis equipment based on player physical capacities, anthropometric data, playing style, and desired performance outcomes (power, control, maneuverability, spin, comfort). Includes player cartography and integrated product catalog, ordering, and payment terminal.
• ASANA Smart Seat System (co-developed with FORVIA) Smart seat system combining sensors embedded in vehicle seats or mats that detect driver sitting position to identify discomfort zones, then transmit data to an application that corrects posture, proposes light massages, and suggests exercises during driving. Algorithms recognize discomfort through physiological, biomechanical, and cognitive signatures. Co-developed intellectual property with FORVIA.
• Physical Testing Laboratory Services Laboratory-based physical testing services covering three domains: movement analysis (biomechanics), metabolic/energetic evaluations, and neurocognitive assessments. Over 800 tests conducted annually at the Aix-en-Provence facility. Targeted at athletes and industrial clients requiring objective human performance measurement.

Quantifiable outcome

• More than 500 scientific evaluation missions with over 1,000 participants completed
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers20 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• FORVIAflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerHumanFab and FORVIA co-developed the ASANA smart seat system — a combination of sensors embedded in seats or mats that detect driver position to identify discomfort, sending data to an application that corrects posture, proposes light massages, and suggests exercises during driving. HumanFab contributed the scientific algorithms recognizing discomfort through physiological, biomechanical, and cognitive signatures, while FORVIA handled seat hardware development. The application was built by HumanFab development teams. This is a flagship co-development partnership producing shared intellectual property.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves11 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Others

• Kistler Group: Swiss precision measurement company whose force platforms and biomechanical sensors are widely used in sports and ergonomic research — adjacent as an enabling sensor and instrumentation provider comparable to the force platforms and IMUs in HumanFab's HumanLab.
• Vicon Motion Systems: UK-based motion capture and 3D analysis platform serving sports science, life sciences and clinical research — adjacent as an enabling instrumentation vendor to HumanFab's biomechanics workflow.
• Noraxon USA: Biomechanics and EMG instrumentation supplier used in sports science, clinical gait analysis and rehab research — adjacent as an enabling technology provider whose measurement tools underpin HumanFab's HumanLab.

Direct peers

• ASPIRE Academy: Qatar-based elite sports science academy with integrated sport science, physiology, biomechanics, and performance laboratories serving national teams and global research partners — comparable as a multidisciplinary sport-science facility with applied R&D.
• Barça Innovation Hub: FC Barcelona's sports science and innovation unit that conducts performance testing, athlete monitoring, and R&D collaborations with global sports brands — directly comparable to HumanFab's elite-athlete testing and equipment-validation practice.
• Isokinetic: Italy-headquartered sports medicine and rehabilitation clinic group with multiple international sites that combines medical rehab, performance testing, and applied research under one roof — the closest structural analogue to HumanFab's integrated sport-health-R&D model.

Broad incumbents

• Catapult Sports: Listed athlete-monitoring and performance-analytics vendor serving elite teams and leagues worldwide — comparable as a sports performance technology provider but with a software-and-wearables focus rather than lab-based R&D.
• Withings: French connected-health device maker spanning consumer wellness scales, watches, and B2B health solutions — overlapping with HumanFab in the consumer health and corporate wellness data domains.

Emerging players

• Hinge Health: US-leading digital MSK and physical-therapy platform sold to employers as a virtual care benefit — the most direct emerging rival to HumanFab Workcare in the employer-sponsored MSK prevention category.
• Sword Health: AI-driven digital MSK and physical therapy platform competing with Hinge Health in employer wellness — overlapping with Workcare on digital MSK prevention and MSD-risk reduction in the workplace.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/human_fab
• Facebookfacebook.com/humanfab.off
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/humanfab
• Instagraminstagram.com/humanfab.off

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Humanfab