EGYM, a connected fitness startup conceived after the founder hit a wall at the gym, lands $200M at a $1.2B+ valuation

Getting healthy is big business these days. Now a startup that’s come up with a unique approach leveraging tech to help people with their exercise regimes is announcing a big round of funding, putting some weight behind its own push for growth. 

Munich-based EGYM — a startup taking a vertically-integrated approach to connected fitness — has closed a Series G round of just over $200 million from L Catterton and Meritech, both new backers of the startup.

The funding is coming in at a post-money valuation of more than $1.2 billion, CEO and founder Philipp Roesch-Schlanderer confirmed to TechCrunch in an interview, and it will be used in a couple of key areas.

The company has several products and services that it sells and develops in tandem. There are connected workout stations that it sells to gyms, and the software that runs on those machines that people exercising can use to better understand what they are doing and getting out of their exertions. There is a marketplace where EGYM connects those gyms to companies that are building out their own wellness programs for their employees. And most recently, there is a new AI-powered personal assistant that EGYM has launched that individuals users can access to help them track their activity and offer more suggestions to improve their activity and outcomes.

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Digbi Health Introduces Industry-First Medically Managed Weight Loss Program that Leverages Precision Biology to Improve GLP-1 Drug Effectiveness, Adherence, and Tapering

PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Digbi Health expands its award-winning multi-condition telehealth platform with the introduction of a comprehensive solution that leverages genetic insights, gut microbiome analysis, and continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) to improve the effectiveness of GLP-1 drugs and guarantee successful medication tapering.

Key Features of Digbi Health’s Medically Managed Program:

• Comprehensive GI Health Screening and Care: The program offers in-depth GI clinical assessments, tracking, and at-home gut microbiome testing to address GI adverse effects that impact the adherence and effectiveness of GLP-1s.

• Personalized Treatment: Digbi uses GLP-Fit (tm) to determine the best treatment path and delivers personalized care. The program provides AI-supported real-time nutritional guidance to improve muscle and glucose health.

• Convenience and adaptability: Patients can access their existing physicians or access Digbi Health’s telehealth platform for GLP-1 prescriptions and clinical care. The program accommodates both branded and compounded GLP-1 drugs, ensuring tailored care to meet the needs of employers, physicians, and patients.

“At Digbi Health, we leverage the gut microbiome to boost the body’s natural production of GLP-1, enabling patients to taper off medication while maintaining their health and weight loss,” said Ranjan Sinha, CEO of Digbi Health. “Our ability to combine obesity, GI, and cardiometabolic care into a single platform simplifies management for employers, increases care utilization, and reduces ER visits.”

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DailyPay Announces International Expansion into the United Kingdom

NEW YORK, Sept. 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- DailyPay, a United States-based worktech company and leading provider of earned wage access (EWA), is expanding globally. Beginning this fall, DailyPay, an award-winning provider of EWA services, will have an EWA offering available in the United Kingdom, marking the company's first foray outside the U.S.

At launch, the program will be offered to DailyPay clients with operations in the U.K.

"Expanding internationally aligns with our goal to bring earned wage access to everyone, everywhere," said Josh Durodola, Vice President of International at DailyPay. "Many of our clients and partners are multinational, and they have increasingly expressed the need to offer this valuable benefit to their employees beyond the U.S. We are thrilled to bring this financial wellness tool to U.K. workers, empowering them to take control of their earned pay and improve their financial well-being."

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DailyPay Unveils Financial Wellness Tool for Credit Monitoring

DailyPay has debuted “Credit Health,” a tool to help users monitor their financial wellness.

Announced Monday (Sept. 16), the offering is integrated into the earned wage access (EWA) company’s app, letting users stay on top of their credit status.

The company said the need for credit monitoring is more relevant than ever, with 77% of American households holding some form of debt, with personal debt at a record high of close to $17.7 trillion, per Federal Reserve Bank of New York data.

Much of this credit is seen as subprime, Daily Pay added, meaning millions of Americans are barred from home ownership and saddled with higher insurance premiums.

“Building credit is a central goal for our users because good credit unlocks fundamental financial opportunities across apartment leases, car loans, borrowing costs, and more,” Jack Rubin, senior vice president of consumer financial solutions at DailyPay, said in a news release. “The first step in building credit is to have access to your score and what’s driving it up or down.”

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Penguin Random House to Acquire Boom! Studios

Penguin Random House is set to acquire comic book and graphic novel publisher Boom! Studios.

The publishing house announced Wednesday that Random House Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House, has agreed to the deal for Boom! Studios, which was founded in 2005 by Ross Richie and Andrew Cosby. The deal is expected to close later this summer, and terms were not disclosed. As part of the transaction, Disney is selling its minority stake in Boom! Studios that 20th Century Fox acquired in 2017.

Boom! Studios will continue its editorial and publishing independence and will report to Random House Worlds president Scott Shannon, while Random House Worlds vp publisher Keith Clayton and Random House Publishing Group executive vp of business strategy Bill Takes will help manage the new imprint. Also part of Random House Worlds’ portfolio of imprints are Del Rey, Inklore and the RH Worlds licensing program.

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