Aaptiv Closes Series C with $52m raised to date; Amazon Alexa Fund and Warner Music Group among new investors

NEW YORK, June 20, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Aaptiv Inc., a leading provider of premium digital health and wellness content that has garnered nearly 200,000 paying members in two years, has raised $22 million in its Series C funding. Launched in 2016, Aaptiv’s audio-guided fitness classes have been streamed more than 14 million times. Total funding for the company is now over $52 million.

The round was led by Millennium Technology Value Partners, a growth equity firm that has previously invested in Spotify, Facebook, Alibaba, among others. Joining them is 14W, a venture capital firm with a portfolio that includes Wallapop, Glossier, Lyst, and Goop. Existing investor Insight Venture Partners also participated in the financing, bringing Insight’s total investment in Aaptiv to over $30 million.

Strategic investors include the Amazon Alexa Fund, Disney, Warner Music Group, and NWS Holdings. Aaptiv will be joining the Disney Accelerator this summer.

“We are honored to be supported by the world’s leading investment firms and technology companies,” said Ethan Agarwal, founder and CEO of Aaptiv. “Aaptiv is now uniquely positioned to continue its dominance in the rapidly growing digital wellness content market. This capital - along with the support from our strategic investors - will allow us to continue to improve the world class product experience we build for our hundreds of thousands of members.”

“We are most excited by how fast Aaptiv has established itself as a category leader in the wellness and fitness space,” said Ray Cheng, Partner at Millennium. “The company’s growth and user engagement metrics over the past two years are some of the best we have seen and we believe a large opportunity awaits as Aaptiv continues deliver the best in class workout experience.”

“Aaptiv is at the helm of shaping the future of fitness and reinventing how people work out,” said Alex Zubillaga, Managing Partner of 14W. “We are proud to invest in a company that has created the fastest-growing mobile fitness product on the market and is changing the way people think about how to live a healthier life.”

“As evidenced by their strong growth, Aaptiv is running toward becoming the next big name in the fitness tech market, due substantially to a rather advanced technology strategy and approach to growth,” said Harley Miller, Vice President, Insight Venture Partners. “We are thrilled to further our investment in Aaptiv and look forward to working together to continue scaling their innovative product.”

“Connected fitness is emerging as a compelling new domain for consumers,” said Paul Bernard, director of Amazon’s Alexa Fund. “We’re excited about Aaptiv’s voice-first approach to personal training, and look forward to helping them explore innovative ways to bring that experience to Alexa.”

This investment is Aaptiv’s largest round to date and funding will be used to further the company’s technology innovation, product growth, and customer acquisition.

About Aaptiv
This is what fitness sounds like.™
Aaptiv Inc. is a leading provider of premium digital health and wellness content with a fast-growing community of nearly 200,000 members who take on average 30,000 of Aaptiv’s exclusive classes each day. With a mission to empower everyone to live a healthier life, Aaptiv has transformed the way people exercise and train through its innovative use of sound. Every Aaptiv class combines the guiding voice of an expert Aaptiv trainer with motivating music by top artists in every genre. This audio-based format eliminates distractions, allowing members to focus on their fitness goals, when and where it suits them.

Aaptiv members have unlimited, on-demand access to over 2,500 audio-guided workouts and structured programs across every type of exercise and a wide variety of activities, including running, strength-training, yoga, indoor cycling, meditation, and more. Each workout or program is created by one of Aaptiv’s 20 certified trainers who focus on goal attainment, encouragement, and positive reinforcement - emphasizing the importance of both mind and body strength in living a healthy life. Aaptiv constantly provides members with fresh content, adding 40 new classes every week. Launched in 2016 by founder and CEO Ethan Agarwal, Aaptiv has over 90 employees in its New York office and has raised over $50m from leading venture capital firms and top companies, including the Amazon Alexa Fund and Disney. To learn more and to download the app, visit Aaptiv.com.

About Millennium Technology Value Partners
Millennium is a New York-based investment firm with nearly $500 million under management. Over the past sixteen years Millennium has invested in more than 80 technology companies, including such well-known leaders as Facebook (FB), Alibaba (BABA), Twitter (TWTR), Zappos (AMZN), Spotify (SPOT), Chegg (CHGG), PrecisionHawk, Tumblr (YHOO), LegalZoom, Pentaho (HDS), Sunrun (RUN), LifeLock (SYMC), ArcSight (HPQ), and many others. The firm’s portfolio companies have achieved 48 IPO and M&A events to date. Millennium is an active investor in companies that are at the leading edge of emerging technologies, such as Autonomous Vehicles, Drones, Mapping, Artificial Intelligence, and Big Data and Data Analytics. More information available at www.MTVLP.com.

About 14W
14W is a consumer venture capital firm focused on e-commerce, CPG, marketplaces, and media. The firm has been successful in media, retail and technology industries with a proven track record identifying and actively building early and mid-stage opportunities. 14W portfolio companies include Wallapop, Letgo, Lyst, Everlane, Reformation, JobToday, Maven Clinic, Moda Operandi, The RealReal, Goop, Glossier, Food52, Outdoor Voices and others.

About Insight Venture Partners
Insight Venture Partners is a leading global venture capital and private equity firm investing in high-growth software companies that are driving transformative change in their industries. Founded in 1995, Insight has raised more than $18 billion and invested in over 300 companies worldwide. Our mission is to find, fund and work successfully with visionary executives, providing them with practical, hands-on growth expertise to foster long-term success. Across our people and our portfolio, we encourage a culture around a core belief: growth equals opportunity. For more information on Insight and all its investments, visit www.insightpartners.com or follow us on Twitter @insightpartners.

About NWS Holdings Limited
NWS Holdings Limited (“NWS Holdings”, Hong Kong stock code: 659) is the infrastructure and service flagship of New World Development Company Limited (Hong Kong stock code: 17). It has diverse businesses and investments predominantly in Hong Kong and Mainland China, comprising toll roads, environmental management, port and logistics facilities, rail container terminals, commercial aircraft leasing, facilities management, healthcare services, construction and public transport. Please visit www.nws.com.hk for details.

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SOURCE Aaptiv