Most health tracking still forces a choice between a beautiful timepiece and a functional wearable. HIYD’s second-generation sensor aims to end that trade-off, and it’s bringing proof of concept to TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 in the form of a $2 million watch.
The San Francisco Bay Area and Toronto-based startup will showcase its new biometric sensor at the conference from October 13 to 15, having earned a spot in the Startup Battlefield 200 program.
Bringing subscription-free health tracking under the watch you already wear.
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The Gen 2 sensor attaches to the caseback of a traditional mechanical or quartz watch, capturing sleep, heart rate, recovery, and stress data without requiring a second device on the wrist. The company says the 2.7mm-thick, 25mm-wide optical sensor uses a soft silicone microsuction pad rather than adhesive or magnets, making it compatible with roughly 95% of watch casebacks and removable without leaving any residue. When the watch comes off—say, for sleep or a workout—the sensor can be transferred to an included fabric band called the SoftBand.
At the conference, HIYD will display the Gen 2 sensor mounted on a Patek Philippe Nautilus ref. 5711/1A-018 featuring a Tiffany & Co. blue dial. That reference is notably rare: only 170 pieces were produced in 2021 to celebrate Tiffany’s 170th anniversary, and one example fetched $6.5 million at Phillips in New York in December 2021. The specific watch on display is on loan from a private collector who has requested anonymity.
The device is sold as a one-time purchase with no subscription required to access the data it collects.
“I’ve spent my career designing hardware at companies like Apple and Tesla, and for a lot of that time my own watches were sitting in a box,” said Salah Batroukh, founder and CEO of HIYD. “Nobody should have to choose between something made by a watchmaker and a device that tells them how they slept.”
On the subscription-free model, Batroukh added: “You shouldn’t have to have a subscription to track your basic health.”
Earlier in 2026, HIYD ran a pilot of its first-generation sensor with a small user group to test fit and comfort across different watches and wrists. The Gen 2 design reflects feedback from that pilot, and validation of the sensor’s data against ECG is currently underway with pilot users.
HIYD is backed by Antler, and its founding team includes alumni of Apple, Tesla, Y Combinator, and medical device company Synaptive Medical. After Disrupt, the company will exhibit at WatchTime Düsseldorf and Micro Praha, with the HIYD Gen 2 slated to launch on Kickstarter in November 2026.
Alex Sabour
Hiyd Inc
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Why it matters: As wearables become ubiquitous, the market for discreet health tracking that doesn’t require abandoning traditional watchmaking is still unproven. HIYD’s approach—no subscription, no adhesive, and a rare luxury timepiece as its showcase—positions it as a niche challenger to smartwatch dominance, but its Kickstarter launch will test whether watch enthusiasts and health-conscious consumers alike are ready to adopt the category.
