New York-based tech startup Ergatta scores $30M for its connected home fitness brand and gamified rowing workouts

At-home fitness continues to surge in popularity, with strong VC investment flowing in the space. Deep-pocket investors are also paying attention to the fitness space. In recent months, investors are betting on home fitness’s continued success well beyond the pandemic.

One of the big players in this space is Ergatta, a Brooklyn, New York-based startup that offers a workout that is carefully calibrated towards individual user profiles and fitness objectives. In just a year, Ergatta has gained incredible traction in this competitive industry by developing a completely new content approach that centers on the individual user, not instructors. As the leader in the rapidly developing gamified fitness category, Ergatta is building competitive workout content that meets a massive unaddressed consumer need.

Today, Ergatta announced it has closed $30 million in Series A funding led by Advance Venture Partners, with participation from Greycroft, Fifth Wall, Gaingels, and Hans Tung (GGV). This new funding builds upon a $5M seed round announced in July 2020, bringing Ergatta’s total capital raised to $35 million, and firmly establishing the brand as a leader in the rapidly developing gamified fitness category.

Ergatta has leveraged its seed capital incredibly efficiently, growing from $0 to a $35M annual run rate in only eight months. This growth, paired with impressive member engagement, shows consumer appetite for Ergatta’s motivating, gamified content is strong.

The startup said it will use the new capital infusion to fuel brand content creation, including developing new games, building enhanced social features, and adding live competitions and events for its users. Just over a year post-launch, the at-home fitness startup receives additional backing to expand the development of its gamified fitness content and scale its supply chain to keep pace with rising consumer demand

Ergatta was founded in 2019 by former colleagues Tom Aulet, Alessandra Gotbaum and Prasanna Swaminathan to introduce competitive and effective at-home fitness experiences that stick. By leveraging key principles of gamification, personalization, and real-time performance feedback, Ergatta’s content platform delivers workouts that feel like playing a sport.

The brand’s flagship product, the Ergatta Rower, pairs this tech-driven content approach with a handcrafted, premium rowing machine that is built from cherry wood in Rhode Island and designed to fit seamlessly into members’ living rooms. Ergatta’s proprietary dynamic calibration personalizes the experience for each individual, automatically adjusting to keep workouts challenging as the user improves over time. This new category of gaming-enabled fitness equipment has clearly struck a chord with consumers, particularly those who are not motivated by “follow-along fitness” and traditional, instructor-led offerings. As a result, Ergatta has seen exponential growth since debuting in March 2020.

“We believe the future of fitness is at home, brought to life by engaging and personalized digital content,” said AVP Founding Partner Courtney Robinson. “Ergatta’s unique workout experience resonates with a large, unaddressed portion of the market that thrives off of competition, sport, and continuous improvement. Their year one growth is a testament to both the demand for gamified fitness and their intimate understanding of the consumer demographic driving that demand,” she continued.

“I’ve been investing in startups for a long time and I’ve rarely seen a new consumer brand gain traction this quickly. If you haven’t heard of Ergatta yet, you will soon,” said Ian Sigalow, Co-Founder and Partner of returning investor Greycroft.

Ergatta’s average residential member works out more than 10 times per month, with an average workout time of over 20 minutes. This new funding will fuel the brand’s content creation, including developing new games, building enhanced social features, and adding live competitions and events for its users. Demand for the Ergatta Rower continues to rise, and funding will also be allocated to scaling the brand’s supply chain, enabling it to keep pace with consumer interest as it grows.

“We are creating a new paradigm for digital fitness content that leverages games and competition, rather than instructors,” said Ergatta Co-Founder and CEO, Tom Aulet. “Our mission is to bring daily fitness within reach for our members by putting the individual in control and creating compelling, personalized programming that adapts to their fitness level, driving consistent fitness behavior over time.”

Below is a video of Ergatta in action.