Meta, Alo Yoga Hit With VR Fitness Lawsuit
An app developer alleges that Meta and Alo backtracked on a deal after learning that the developer also had plans to join rivals Apple and Pico
Meta has again been accused of gatekeeping the burgeoning virtual reality fitness space, this time drawing the ire of an immersive VR app developer, who slapped the tech titan and athleisure brand Alo Yoga with a lawsuit.
The plaintiff, California-based Andre Elijah Immersive Inc. (AEI), is a self-proclaimed new entrant to the VR fitness space and had allegedly developed a new VR fitness yoga app with Meta and Alo Yoga before things went south. The bulk of the lawsuit alleges that Meta has a vertical monopoly on the VR space and colluded with Alo Yoga to oust AEI Fitness from the fast-growing VR market.
According to the filing, AEI spent an entire year “exhaustively developing” the app, and was poised to become one of the most dominant market leaders in the VR fitness space with its yoga app.
The suit alleges that Alo Yoga agreed that AEI Fitness would use its famed yoga brand and would feature notable yoga instructors, allowing users to log in and take lessons in the virtual reality world. The filing mentions the sizable reach of the yoga instructors, which it alleges would have empowered the platform to become one of the most recognizable VR fitness apps in the world.
According to the suit, although Meta had agreed to launch the AEI Fitness app at its recent Meta Connect conference — thereby putting it on the world stage — the tech giant crafted a “predatory plan” upon learning that the AEI Fitness App would launch on Apple and Pico, its competitors, in the next year or two. Apple and Pico weren’t named as defendants in the suit.
By cutting ties with AEI, the suit alleges Meta took one more step closer to controlling the entire metaverse.
Meta and the defendants are alleged to have immediately cut ties with AEI Fitness, saying the app wouldn’t be launched at last month’s high-profile Meta Connect conference and banning the plaintiff from attending the event.
Additionally, AEI Fitness alleges Meta and the defendants refused to pay out $1.5 million under the terms of the agreement, as well as another $1.7 million which is to be owed in the near term.
Meta is no stranger to accusations of monopolizing the metaverse, as seen with its recent battle with the FTC over whether it could acquire Within, a VR developer and maker of the Supernatural app.
Although Mark Zuckerberg said in court last year that he’s more interested in prioritizing the building of social apps over fitness apps with the metaverse, Meta is still leaning into health and fitness, believing it can expand the market greatly by making workouts fun and entertaining with VR and mixed reality.
Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
