TC Disrupt Main Stage: Mirror Wants To Get You Up And Running At Home

Startups are getting you to hit the gym (at home) again.

Mirror has developed a—you guessed it—mirror-like screen that streams live and on-demand fitness classes. Yesterday the company announced that it raised $25 million before hitting the Main Stage at TechCrunch Disrupt. Spark Capital, a previous Mirror investor, led the company’s round. Other Mirror investors include First Round Capital, Primary Venture Partners, BoxGroup, and Brainchild Holdings.

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Brynn Putnam, Mirror’s CEO, began her career in fitness as a professional dancer in the New York City Ballet. She told TC interviewer Lucas Matney that her motivation to develop Mirror was a combination of a newly busy lifestyle as an entrepreneur and a new mom, as well as the feedback that she received from members of Refine Method, a fitness studio Putnam founded.

“We took a poll of our clients at the studios, and they said the best thing we had done all year was put more mirrors into our gyms,” Putnam told Matney. She then combined that idea with the convenience of working out at home in the development of Mirror.

Mirror offers classes in cardio, strength, HIIT, yoga, boxing, and bar, to name a few. The product’s large screen has a built-in camera that is turned on during on-demand personal training classes. Users can also interact with classmates through chat features. The device also syncs with the user’s wearables, collects and displays data about past workouts and progress, and workouts can be adjusted based on the user’s biometric information.

Of course, the product may resemble a standard mirror or screen on a wall in appearance, but it certainly does not in price. The product runs for $1,495, not including the 12-month subscription plan. And, as we’ve reported before, Mirror isn’t the only startup jumping in on the fitness market.

Startups are tackling the fitness market from various angles. ClassPass and Peerfit are trying to make it easier to get people into the gym and fitness classes. Peloton has raised hundreds of millions for its connected stationary bikes and treadmills, while companies like Aaptiv and Headspace are looking to bring personal training to your phones and in your ears.

It’s a crowded market, but Putnam seemed to be confident that the product would become another screen essential in the average household. And while the company is tackling fitness first, it can potentially move into other verticals like physical therapy, beauty, and fashion in the future.