By CultureBanx Team
- LeBron James invests in Tonal valued at $1.6B following a $250M Series E round
- The home fitness equipment market that’s expected to reach a value of $23.27B by 2025
Tonal, the strength training home fitness company has attracted another NBA superstar to its cap table, with LeBron James joining its growing list of professional athlete investors. The company was valued at $1.6 billion following a $250 million Series E round in March. Tonal says it has more than 90% of market share in the connected strength category and is looking to expand even more with King James on board.
Why This Matters: During the “first wave” of the coronavirus, NPD Group reported that in March alone, fitness equipment sales rose 130% year-over-year. Tonal’s $2,995 machine soared in popularity during the pandemic along with its deep roster of investors. James joins a growing list of more than 30 elite athlete investors and brand ambassadors who turn to Tonal to support their training. The list includes Serena Williams, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Tony Gonzalez, Drew Brees, Maria Sharapova, Michelle Wie, Paul George, Sue Bird, Larry Fitzgerald, and Bobby Wagner. All of these athletes are banking on the home fitness equipment market that’s expected to reach a value of $23.27 billion by 2025, along with the fact that Tonal’s system sales increased 800% between December 2019 and December 2020.
Financial terms of James’ investment were not disclosed; he did talk about how efficient Tonal is. “The efficiency of Tonal is second to none when it comes to strength training,” he said. “[It’s] easy in a sense that everything is literally right there. You don’t have to move all across the room to different machines or racking weights—everything is literally right in front of you at an arm’s length.”
What’s Next: Competition is steep in this space with a third wave looming, and brands like Peloton, Tempo and Vi hoping to benefit from the continuous stay-at-home orders with their entry-level products, $60 million fundraiser; and AI-powered products, respectively. For Tonal, the company’s sales have multiplied 10x since last year’s comparable period, and In March, its CEO Aly Orady said the company was preparing for an IPO.
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