Goldman Leads USD 127 Mln Series D Funding of Fitness Instruction App 'Keep'
36Kr.com, 7/10/18
Beijing-based Calorie Technology, operator of mobile healthcare and fitness app Keep, recently completed USD 127 mln in Series D funding led by Goldman Sachs with participation from Chinese internet conglomerate Tencent (0700.HK), Granite Global Ventures, Morningside Ventures, and Bertelsmann Asia Investments (BAI).
The current funding will be used for R&D of AI products and incubation of new business lines. Artificial intelligence has two possible applications in Keep, according to an employee there. Big data and algorithms in the app can perform smart distribution achieving microtargeted precision recommendations to users. Secondly, sensors or other smart equipment could be installed onto treadmills for real-time monitoring and collection of exercise metrics. That data could be used to create targeted fitness guidance plans.
Keep passed 100 mln users in August 2017 and currently has 140 mln. The international version of the app has reached 20 mln users in the six months since its launch and supports a dozen languages, including English, German, Japanese, Thai, and Spanish.
The Keep mobile app offers users healthcare and fitness video tutorials, and users can also post messages to share their fitness experiences with other users. Keep also operates a B2C e-commerce channel that sells sports equipment products.
Editor's Note: For more information on this topic, please see Tencent Invests in Fitness Instruction and SNS App 'Keep', MD 8/16/16 issue.
Keywords: mobile fitness VC Keep app mobile SNS funding wireless Tencent Bertelsmann Series D Goldman Sachs Morningside 0700.HK Calorie Technology GGV Capital