Speediance Raises Nearly $10M To Grow Digital Weight Machines
The U.S. market is a key priority for the Chinese smart fitness brand founded in 2020
Speediance, a Chinese smart fitness brand that uses digital weights, has concluded two funding rounds totaling nearly $10 million.
The funding, led by Oriza Seed and Haiyi Investment, included participation from Frees Fund and Rongda CVC.
The smart fitness brand, founded in 2020, says the funds will be used for product line improvement and market expansion. Speediance has created a series of digital resistance equipment designed to revolutionize strength training, successfully launching a pair of products: Gym Monster and Gym Pal.
Gym Monster offers an all-in-one strength trainer with digital weight and intelligent training. The strength training equipment launched on Kickstarter in November 2021, raising nearly $560,000 in crowdfunding before entering mass production in 2022. The vertical and foldable trainer can transform into a rowing machine, ski machine, squat rack or functional trainer with the help of accessories.
Last month, Speediance unveiled Gym Pal, a home fitness product that simplifies training programs and movements with an interactive app.
Designed to be “miniaturized,” the machine trains all major muscle groups and integrates accessories such as an adjustable barbell, adjustable bench, ankle straps and handles to fulfill training goals. Gym Pal also offers real-time monitoring and safety features such as automatic weight reduction.
Earlier this year, Speediance launched the Commercial Speediance Master Series, which offers a line of digital fitness equipment for universities, gyms and government facilities.
“The commercial market holds significant importance,” said Liu Tao, Speediance founder. “Despite millions of fitness enthusiasts in China generating tons of fitness data daily, the effective storage and recording of this data remain limited. Venturing into the commercial market can expose the technology to a broader fitness audience and will in return offer valuable feedback for C-end users in the future.”
The smart fitness company has also established a distributor network in the U.S., Australia, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Germany, France, Spain and Chile. Tao confirmed that Speediance will continue to focus on the DTC space, identifying the U.S. market as its priority.
The company reports sales revenue growth this year, with monthly revenue exceeding $1.45 million in July.
Speediance plans to launch additional home gym products in the second half of the year, including an upgraded Gym Monster, several new Artificial Intelligence of Things (AIoT) accessories, as well as other products.
The Crowded Smart Home Gym Market
The rapid growth and entrance of Speediance into the U.S. market and DTC space could make the fitness company a formidable competitor to Tonal, which also uses digital weights.
Tonal, which recently made a significant executive change, shifting leadership from founder Aly Orady to new CEO Krystal Zell, is looking to revamp its business after experiencing a post-pandemic slump.
In addition to fresh leadership, the smart home gym company raised $130 million from a new funding round, which Tonal hopes will give it a boost as it attempts to charter a comeback.
Tonal hit the coveted unicorn status in 2021 but, like Peloton, has faced challenges in a post-pandemic fitness environment where consumers favor boutique and in-person fitness. Last summer, the company laid off 35% of its workforce and announced it would close its Los Angeles studio. A second round of layoffs occurred in January.
