Peloton, the stationary bike startup with a built-in tablet for live streaming cycling classes, has raised $30 million in Series C funding in order to expand brick-and-mortar retail locations and accelerate bike production.
Previous investor Tiger Global Management led the round, along with True Ventures. This now brings the total amount raised up to $44 million for the startup.
Peloton launched out of New York City last year with the goal to sell the next wave of at-home cycling equipment. Bikes are sold at eight physical locations as well as online. Each bike goes for a cool $1,995 plus a $39 per month subscription to the video classes. The startup claims to have sold more than 10,000 bikes in all 50 states and 16 international locations so far.
Peloton is on the high end of stationary bike equipment, price-wise. The SB700, a high-tech stationary bike from Sole Fitness, goes for about $800. Several other stationary bikes sell for under $200. One could just buy a stationary bike and an iPad and download cycling classes on an app.
But stationary bike hardware is only a part of the possibility for the fitness startup, according to True Ventures founding partner John Callaghan, who is joining the Peloton board. True Ventures has made a number of investments in the hardware space, including electric vehicle platform Renovo and smart fitness clothing startup Athos.
Callaghan, who is also on the board at Fitbit, believes the key to connected hardware innovation is the connected part of it. He says Peloton offers that element with the combination of hardware and live streamed group fitness classes.
“Peloton has inspired a deep and loyal global community to share their passion for fitness, camaraderie and cycling,” Callaghan said.
The startup seems to have its work cut out in converting those who enjoy group spin classes to buyers. There are more than 11 million stationary biking enthusiasts in the U.S., the majority of whom say they prefer group cycling, according to the latest report from the Sports and Fitness Industry Association.
There are plenty of spin classes in most gyms, but it makes sense for Peloton to go after those involved in more expensive crazes like SoulCycle, which costs $34 per class and claims to have 50,000 riders participate every week.
Peloton opened up a flagship studio in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City and other posh locations to pull in this very crowd willing to pay for the experience.
Peloton will use the new funds to increase television marketing efforts to this desired crowd. Part of the new cash will also go towards hiring more engineers to enhance the software that powers the group live streaming experience. It also plans to double physical locations from eight to 16.