Asian fitness platform KFit raises US$3.25 million to tap region's legions of gym bunnies
KFit, a platform in Asia-Pacific that provides access to various gyms and fitness studios for a fixed subscription fee, raised US$3.25 million in its latest investment round led by American venture capital firm Sequoia Capital, the company said on Tuesday.
Similar to ClassPass in the United States, KFit allows users to sign up for a range of classes across different partner gyms or studios for one flat fee.
The money it raised will be used to invest in technology and partnerships to connect more people to fitness facilities in the region, according to company founder Joel Neoh of Malaysia. He formerly served as the head of Groupon’s Asia-Pacific operations.
It will add Auckland, Seoul and Manila in the coming weeks, the company said, but has no immediate plans to enter the mainland Chinese market.
“China is always the most attractive Asian market, and India of course, both are very attractive,” Neoh said. “[But] while we want to execute fast, we have to be very methodical in these two markets.”
KFit raised its seed funding from a mixture of angel investors and venture capital firms including 500 Startups, SXE Ventures and Founders Global, it added.
Neoh said earlier that he sees immense potential in the region as “less than 5 per cent of people [in Asia] have fitness club memberships”, adding that, unlike in the US, he aims to capitalise on customers who are new to the fitness trend.
KFit said it plans to cover most capital cities in Asia within two years.
