Aaptiv, the growing audio-based fitness app, went live in 20 countries yesterday, 5 months after scoring a $22m funding round from several high-profile backers including Amazon and Disney.
Aaptiv’s global expansion shows that the company will stay true to its audio roots as it attempts to capitalize on the expanding “connected fitness” market.
The digital fitness industry is on a roll: SoulCycle started out as a boutique workout class before spinning off into apparel and digital fitness, while Peloton started with high-end fitness equipment before expanding into apparel and live digital classes.
But, while competitors are trying to offer multiple formats and products, Aaptiv only makes pre-recorded audio classes.
The company is banking on convenience: Unlike high-end competitors, classes don’t require a $1,995 piece of hardware, and unlike video workouts, Aaptiv classes are accessible at home, in the gym, or outside.
Users have taken more than 18m Aaptiv classes to date (up from 14m 5 months ago), and with just 5 full-time and a handful of part-time trainers, the company now has well over 200k users paying $14.99 monthly or $99 annually.
But so far, Aaptiv’s expansion is limited by language (it only offers English classes). The company’s challenge now will be to scale its model and develop more “localized” content.