Funding Extends Tonal’s Dominance in Connected Strength Training and the Future of Intelligent Fitness
New Athlete Investors include Drew Brees, Larry Fitzgerald, Maria Sharapova, Mike Tyson and Sue Bird
SAN FRANCISCO, CA (March 31, 2021) — Tonal, the most advanced strength and personal training platform that combines proprietary digital weight, artificial intelligence, and expert-led coaching, today announced $250M in new funding, valuing the business at $1.6B. This brings Tonal’s total funding to over $450M, as it continues to usher in a new era of intelligent fitness and further establishes itself as the clear leader in connected strength training.
The oversubscribed Series E round is led by Dragoneer, a growth-oriented investment firm with a long track record of successfully identifying category and industry leaders, with participation by Cobalt Capital, new athlete investors, and existing investors including L Catterton and Sapphire Ventures. This capital will allow Tonal to further accelerate marketing and content initiatives, while scaling the business and operations by investing in people, logistics, and manufacturing, to more quickly meet its unprecedented demand.
2020 was a year of explosive growth for Tonal, with sales growing more than 8x and best-in-class member engagement and retention rates. Tonal also recently announced a nationwide partnership with Nordstrom across 40 locations, expanding its retail footprint to 60 points of distribution. With more than 90 percent market share in the connected strength training segment, and a Net Promoter Score consistently above 80, Tonal continues to broaden its lead in the category.
“Our growth over the last year underscores the changing fitness landscape. People want smarter, more connected ways to work out,” said Aly Orady, CEO of Tonal. “With this new capital, we will continue to demonstrate how intelligent fitness will fundamentally change the way people train and maintain their health. We plan to use this funding to further our investments in product and content and scale our operations so that we can get more Tonals to more people faster.”
“The past year has shown us what the future of fitness looks like — connected, personalized, and content-driven, all within the comfort and convenience of your home — and Tonal is an important force driving this trend,” said Jared Middleman, Partner at Dragoneer. “Its sophisticated hardware and engaging content provide a superior workout experience that has created immense customer love, and the product experience continues to improve at an incredible pace — thanks to Aly and the team’s inspiring vision and relentless execution. We are thrilled to support them as they enter this exciting next phase of growth and seek to revolutionize at-home fitness for consumers across the country.”
Professional athletes have always been core to Tonal’s DNA, and with this round, it continues to add to its growing roster of more than 30 athlete investors with new investments from Drew Brees, Larry Fitzgerald, Maria Sharapova, Mike Tyson, and Sue Bird.
“Since retiring from tennis, Tonal has become a major part of my fitness routine — especially spending more time at home this year, as we all have,” said Maria Sharapova. “As an investor, I’ve always been drawn to companies that are developing a new approach to their category, and Tonal’s focus on A.I. and technology brings added accountability and a unique sense of motivation that I haven’t yet seen in the space. I’m excited by the opportunity to help shape that vision for the future of fitness with Aly and the Tonal team.”
In addition to increased staffing across the organization, Tonal has recently made a number of key executive hires that include:
- Chief Operations Officer Shannon Crespin – a former Johnson & Johnson executive, Ms. Crespin will be responsible for leading Tonal through scaling and achieving operational excellence.
- Chief Strategy Officer Gregory de Gunzburg – former Head of Corporate Strategy and Development for NBCUniversal, where he led the launch of Peacock, Mr. de Gunzburg will oversee Tonal’s strategic operations and business development functions.
- Chief Technology Officer Bryan James – with more than two decades of leadership experience at Google, Nest, Apple, and TiVo, Mr. James will lead Tonal’s software and hardware engineering organizations.
Tonal also recently welcomed Nina Richardson and Jack Lazar to its Board of Directors. Both Richardson and Lazar bring extensive operating experience with consumer hardware and software businesses, and considerable public company board experience.
After more than six years of product development and innovation, Tonal has set the bar for connected strength training as the only offering that combines revolutionary equipment leveraging digital weight with the most advanced A.I. training available. Unlike other products that rely on traditional dumbbells and barbells, Tonal is moving the industry forward with intelligent fitness through adaptive resistance technology that learns from the user for a more personalized and more effective full-body workout.
About Tonal
Tonal is the most intelligent home gym and the first truly personalized approach to strength training. Tonal enables people to lead healthier lives by providing them with the equipment, technology, and guidance to effectively reach their fitness goals. By using a proprietary digital weight system instead of metal weights, Tonal can generate 200 pounds of resistance and replicate every machine in the weight room with a fraction of the equipment. Smarter than dumbbells and better than bodyweight, Tonal leverages A.I. to dynamically adjust the weights for each exercise in real-time for your most effective workout. Led by Aly Orady, a supercomputer engineer, the company makes strength training accessible to all. Tonal is backed by leading growth and venture capital investors including Dragoneer, L Catterton, Cobalt Capital, Mayfield, Shasta Ventures, Delta-v, Mousse Partners, Kindred Ventures, THVC, and Bolt, as well as leading investors in health and fitness, including a growing roster of professional athletes. The company is headquartered in San Francisco, California.
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About Dragoneer Investment Group
Dragoneer is a San Francisco-based, growth-oriented investment firm with over $17 billion in long-duration capital from many of the world’s leading endowments, foundations, sovereign wealth funds, and family offices. Dragoneer has a history of partnering with management teams growing exceptional companies characterized by sustainable differentiation and superior economic models. The firm’s track record includes public and private investments across industries and geographies, with a particular focus on technology-enabled businesses. Dragoneer has been an investor in companies such as Airbnb, AmWINS, Ant Financial, ByteDance, Datadog, DoorDash, Duck Creek, Farfetch, Livongo, Nubank, Peloton, PointClickCare, ServiceNow, Slack, Snowflake, Spotify, Square, Twilio, Uber, and others.