A daily newsletter summarizing recent activity & interesting startups globally
RECENT NOTABLE ACTIVITY – FITNESS AND WELLNESS
- OMsignal, a developer of smart apparel that can monitor heart rate and activity, raised $10M in a Series B funding round led by Relay Ventures. Link
- Happify, an online platform to improve mental and emotional health through gamification, raised $5M in a Series B funding round. Link
- Awarables, a developer of wearable that identifies and treats sleep disorders, raised $500k in a Seed funding round from Baltimore based Abell Foundation. Link
- Cult Fitness, a fitness center offering machine-free training regime, have its controlling stakes acquired by CureFit for $3M. Link
- Fitbit, a fitness wearable company, launches 2 new products – Charge 2 and Flex 2. Link
- Samsung launches Gear Fit 2 and Gear IconX fitness wearables. Link
- TomTom announced three new fitness tracking wearables. Link
- Fitbit opens office in Ireland to serve as Europe, Middle East and Africa headquarters. Link
SOME INTERESTING STARTUPS FOUND
Updown Fitness (2015, Madison) – Updown Fitness is a mobile app for personalized fitness workouts. The workout is dynamically generated to meet the user’s goals. Updown learns from the user’s progress and adjusts routines accordingly. The application encourages engagement in activity and exercise through point-based incentives.
LEADER BOARD – FITNESS AND WELLNESS
Physical Health – Monitoring – Wearables
Fitbit (2007, SF, IPO) – Wireless wearable fitness tracker to track a person’s daily activities. Went public in 2015.
Jawbone (1999, SF, $1B) – Fitness wristband with algorithm for tracking daily activities. Backed by KPCB, Andreessen Horowitz, Khosla Ventures, Sequoia Capital and more.
Misfit (2011, Redwood City, $63M, Acq.) – Develops wearable products to track daily activities. Backed by GGV Capital, Founders Fund, Khosla Ventures and more. Acquired by Fossil in 2015.
Physical Health – Monitoring – Devices
Peloton Cycle (2012, NYC, $119M) – Cloud-based live streaming of instructional cycling exercise content with social elements. Backed by Tiger Global, True Ventures and Grace Beauty Capital.
Physical Health – Monitoring – Apps
MapMyFitness (2007, Austin, $24M, Acq.) – App-based tracking of workouts like running, cycling, walking etc. Backed by Austin Ventures and Milestone Venture Partners. Acquired by UnderArmour in 2013.
MyFitnessPal (2005, SF, $18M, Acq.) – Mobile app to track calorie intake & exercises. Backed by KPCB and Accel. Acquired by UnderArmour in 2015.
Physical Health – Delivery Channel – Offline – Fitness Centres
ClassPass (2013, NYC, $84M) – Monthly membership for fitness classes across multiple gyms and studios. Backed by General Catalysts Partners and Google Ventures.
Quancheng Relian (2014, Beijing, $17M) – Mobile app for booking gyms and fitness centers with subscription passes. Backed by Matrix Partners and Legend Capital China.
Physical Health – Delivery Channel – Offline – Coaches
Fitmob (2013, SF, $15M, Acq.) – Online marketplace for finding and booking workouts with trainers. Backed by Arena Ventures, Mayfield Fund, Marc Bell Ventures and more. Acquired by Classpass in 2015.
CoachUp (2011, Boston, $9M) – Online marketplace that connects athletes with private coaches. Backed by General Catalyst Partners, Point Judith Capital and Breakaway Innovation Group.
Physical Health – Delivery Channel – Online
Grokker (2012, San Jose, $15.5M) – Online marketplace offering video classes with the content in fitness. Backed by Khosla Ventures, Correlation Ventures, First Round Capital and Interwest Partners.
SportQ (2012, Shanghai, $10M) – App-based platform for fitness enthusiasts to consult professional coaches online. Backed by SIG China and SmallVille Capital.
Physical Health – Social Platform
Strava (2009, SF, $35M) – Online social network for users to compare and compete with each other. Backed by Sequoia Capital, Madrone Capital Partners and Sigma Partners.
JoyRun (2014, Guangzhou, $18M) – Social networking app for jogging. Backed by The Arena Capital, Innovation Works and more.
Physical Health – Tools for Fitness Centers
Netpulse (2009, SF, $52M) – Saas platform for fitness clubs. Backed by Nokia Growth Partners, Javelin Venture Partners, Draper Frontier and more.
Physical Health – Information Portal
HealthiNation (2005, NYC, $14M) – Provider of health & wellness content through videos. Backed by Intel Capital.
Physical Health – App Studio
Azumio (2011, Palo Alto, $3.4M) – Developer of mobile applications for healthcare. Backed by Founders Fund, Accel and Felicis Ventures.
Mental Health
SleepNumber (1987, Minneapolis, IPO) – Sleep monitoring through hidden sensors inside the bed. Went public in 1998.
Headspace (2010, LA, $39M) – Guided meditation sessions and mindfulness training through app/web. Backed by The Chernin Group, Advancit Capital, Allen & Company and more.
Leaderboard includes all the top funded, IPO and successfully running bootstrapped companies along with their location, founding year and funding amount.
For latest updates, visit Fitness and Wellness feed.