Upgrade Labs showcases AI-powered longevity gadgets in the biohacking spotlight

Biohacking entrepreneur Dave Asprey pulled back the curtain on a raft of new gadgets and an AI-backed health platform at Upgrade Labs, signaling a push to deliver more health results in less time. Asprey, 52, told attendees that his mission is to test every new device so users can decide quickly whether a given technology is worth their time and money. “What I want to do is get you more results in less time,” he said, underscoring the core premise that efficiency is as valuable as efficacy in this fast-moving field.

Upgrade Labs bills itself as the world’s first AI-powered longevity center, a place where members can access an array of therapies touted as cutting-edge but largely drug-free. In a fall visit to a Texas location, staff highlighted three devices drawing particular attention from biohackers and endurance athletes, along with a software platform that promises a more personalized health roadmap. The lineup includes the BackHug robotic back therapist, the Shiftwave stress-relief chair, and Pulse PEMF’s Zero Gravity Lounger, all shown alongside the AXO digital health platform that fuses lab results with wearable data to generate tailored recommendations. Griff Long, Upgrade Labs’ brand president, described the center as a testing ground where technology must justify its time-cost tradeoff before it earns a place in a member’s routine.

The BackHug, touted as the “world’s first robotic back therapist,” is a compact device from Pacla Medical that relies on artificial intelligence to scan the spine and direct 26 robotic fingers to targeted areas. Its hands-on mimicry is designed to reach stiff joints along the spine, from the neck to the lower back, while the system tracks tension levels through the session to offer a readout of back health and whether users are gleaning benefits. Long emphasized that the unit’s AI makes it customizable rather than merely a passive massage bench. Early clinical notes cited by Upgrade Labs show a 10-minute session reducing pain by an average of 29% and a 44% drop in muscular tension after three uses. The broader context is stark: roughly 80% of Americans will experience back pain at some point, and about 16 million adults live with chronic, daily pain. The BackHug’s promise is to compress relief into brief, repeatable visits that align with a biohacker’s time budget.

The Shiftwave follows, a chair-based system that combines magnetic pulses with sensory elements. Users sit, don a headset and a blindfold, and participate in guided breathing while whole-body vibrations help shift the autonomic nervous system from a sympathetic “fight-or-flight” state toward relaxation and recovery. Long recounted personal experience with the device, noting a dramatic sense of reset after short sessions. Independent observations from Upgrade Labs indicate meaningful feedback in high-stress contexts: in a Tulane University School of Medicine–led clinical trial, 41% of participants reported lower stress, 22% showed improved focus, and 43% felt more relaxed after using the device. Real-world deployments have produced striking results as well: in Manhattan ICUs, 54% of staff reported pain relief after 10 to 20 minutes; in California wildfire responses, 55% reported full stress relief and 26% noted pain relief; and among Ukrainian soldiers, 34% reported total anxiety relief with 48% experiencing some pain reduction.

Upgrade Labs members have long used Pulsed Electromagnetic Field therapy, or PEMF, to stimulate cells and improve recovery. The Zero Gravity Lounger from Pulse PEMF introduces an ergonomic, contoured design that distributes weight to relieve spinal pressure and deepen relaxation. Practitioners describe how PEMF can complement other therapies by rebalancing electrical signals in muscles, bones and connective tissue. A trial visit in Austin yielded a tangible sense of relief—participants noted diminished back pain and a lessening of knee throbbing after a 12-minute session. Long said the lab is exploring stacking protocols so that PEMF can be paired with other treatments, such as oxygen therapy, to multiply benefits in a single session.

Beyond the devices themselves, Asprey highlighted a broader, data-driven approach: AXO, Upgrade Labs’ digital health platform. After a member undergoes a blood analysis, AXO aggregates results from more than 100 biomarkers and merges them with wearable telemetry and performance data gathered from the lab’s equipment. The goal is a holistic, 360-degree view of an individual’s internal state, enabling personalized recommendations designed to shorten the time to reach health goals. Asprey stressed that AXO is accessible even to non-members, expanding the reach of the lab’s analytics beyond its four walls.

“I would like to have more of that in my own life,” Asprey said, adding that he doesn’t want to be the sole expert but rather to rely on a system that translates data into actionable steps. Long echoed the sentiment, highlighting the balance between promise and practicality. While some devices deliver clear, repeatable benefits, others offer limited value per minute of time spent. The team emphasized that the technologies showcased are selected for potential impact and the ability to integrate with a busy lifestyle, a hallmark of Upgrade Labs’ philosophy: maximize benefits in the shortest possible period while remaining drug-free.

The present lineup underscores a broader trend in Technology & AI: the fusion of artificial intelligence with personal health tools to deliver precision wellness at scale. The AXO platform, in particular, epitomizes the move toward data-driven personalization, combining objective biomarker data with subjective performance metrics and real-time device feedback. That approach aligns with a market push toward actionable analytics rather than one-off gadgets, as participants look for measurable returns on time spent pursuing health goals.

The emphasis on AI and data-driven customization also raises questions about evidence, cost, and accessibility. Upgrade Labs has aimed to strike a balance between cutting-edge appeal and demonstrable value, using internal pilots and third-party studies to contextualize claims. The fall demonstrations in Texas, alongside prior visits, illustrate how the center positions itself at the intersection of consumer wellness and advanced science, where devices are vetted for practical impact as much as novelty.

For Asprey and Upgrade Labs, the payoff is clear: a more efficient path to wellness that fits into modern, time-strapped lives. The focus on drug-free therapies, careful vetting of devices, and a robust data ecosystem points to a future in which AI-assisted biohacking becomes less about hype and more about repeatable, personalized outcomes. Whether individual users will experience consistent benefits across diverse devices remains an open question, but the ongoing rollout signals that AI-enabled wellness is becoming a mainstream consideration for anyone seeking to optimize health in less time.