Fitness App Startup Freeletics Raises $45M

The business of working out is getting increasingly competitive.

German digital fitness startup Freeletics has closed on a $45 million Series A round. The previously bootstrapped company said in a news release that it has achieved 120 percent growth in core markets, including the US, over the last six months. (Although exactly what kind of growth is not clear)

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FitLab, Causeway Media Partners and JAZZ Venture Partners led the round, which also included participation from Courtside Ventures, Elysian Park Ventures, ward.ventures, and business strategist Tony Robbins.

In a press release, Freeletics said 31 million people in more than 160 countries use its fitness and personal coaching apps. The five-year-old company’s flagship app, “Freeletics Fitness Coach,” is designed to allow users to train from wherever they are “with a full program of personally tailored workouts.” It does that by using an AI algorithm to “learn” from each user’s workout and then applying that information to develop customized training for each user.

The fitness industry is becoming more and more attractive to investors. According to Crunchbase, as of August 2018, the 10 most funded U.S. startups in fitness had raised more than $1.6 billion. Also according to Crunchbase data, which is useful in indicating industry trends, the U.S. fitness industry has grown significantly since 2010. Known total venture deals peaked in 2014, with seed-stage funding taking up the majority. Total funding reached a record high both in the U.S. and globally in 2017, as you can see below.