Fitness marketplace ClassPass becomes Unicorn with its latest US$285M fundraise
ClassPass, a global fitness and wellness marketplace, today announced the close of a US$285 million Series E investment, led by L Catterton and Apax Digital.
Existing investor Temasek also chipped in.
The investment will enable New York-headquartered ClassPass, which now has over 650 employees across five continents, to continue scaling its proprietary reservation and booking technology across the globe.
As per several reports, this round took ClassPass’s valuation to over US$1 billion to make it to the Unicorn startups club.
Founded in 2013 by Payal Kadakia, ClassPass is a flexible network of fitness and wellness experiences. Members gain instant access to over 30,000 pre-vetted global exercise studios, which offer diverse fitness options including yoga, cycling, Pilates, strength training, and boxing.
In addition to workouts, members can instantly book inspiring wellness experiences, such as massages, acupuncture and spa treatments.
ClassPass uses Machine Learning to provide catered recommendations to each member based on his/her goals and preferences. The firm is also working directly with studio partners to merchandise their excess inventory, find new customers and generate new streams of revenue.
As of today, the firm has operations in 28 countries. “In 18 months, we’ve scaled from four to 28 countries,” said ClassPass CEO Fritz Lanman. “Our goal is to be the brand of choice and leader in every country we enter. This investment will allow us to expand more rapidly within existing geographies, add more countries to our network, and scale our corporate program globally.”
As part of the investment, Marc Magliacano, Managing Partner at L Catterton’s Flagship Fund, and Daniel O’Keefe, Managing Partner at Apax Digital, will join the ClassPass Board of Directors.
With approximately US$20 billion of equity capital across seven fund strategies in 17 offices globally, L Catterton is a consumer-focused private equity firm. Since 1989, it has made over 200 investments in leading consumer brands.
Apax Digital Fund specialises in growth equity and buyout investments in high-growth enterprise software, consumer internet, and technology-enabled services companies worldwide.
ClassPass entered Asia in August 2018 with a launch in Singapore. Exactly a year ago, it acquired its top Asian competitor GuavaPass.