Online fitness platform ImStrong raises seed funding

ImStrong Health And Wellness, which owns and operates live video streaming fitness platform ImStrong, has raised Rs 3 crore ($399,042 at current exchange rates) in a seed funding round led by Rainmatter Capital, a startup incubator established by online stock trading startup Zerodha.

Existing investor Raghunandan G, co-founder of TaxiForSure, also participated in the round, according to a statement.

The Bengaluru headquartered company said it will use the fresh funds to strengthen its product. 

In January last year, the startup had raised an angel round worth $430,000 from Raghunandan G and Nitin Kamath, founder and chief executive officer of Zerodha.

Founded in 2019 by Dilip Kumar, Selvan Thamarai and Deepti Nair, ImStrong connects independent trainers, yoga teachers, studio owners, and gyms with their customers through live online classes.

“People find it difficult to find some time for a gym session either due to long travel time or high costs. Now users can exercise anytime, anywhere with guidance from a professional trainer,” said Dilip Kumar, co-founder, ImStrong. 

The startup will offer exclusive online yoga and mindfulness classes for Zerodha traders, the statement added. 

“In a mentally taxing activity like trading, you need to have a calm and peaceful mind. ImStrong has created a customised physical and mental fitness plan for our customers to give them access to premium yoga and mindfulness classes online,” Kamath said.

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ImStrong platform aims to enable fitness professionals and yoga trainers to reach a global audience and build an additional source of income by having their own digital studio on the platform. 

“We are also witnessing an upward trend in our business activity, given the current scenario in the country and globally, with people being confined to their homes and dependent on such classes to keep a check on their fitness routine,” Selvan Thamarai, co-founder, ImStrong, said.

Startups offering health and wellness services have gained traction over the past few months. In February, Oga, a Bengaluru-based fitness startup owned by Qvady Technologies, raised $330,000 in a seed funding round from Inflection Point Ventures (IPV).

Last year in September, GOQii Technologies, which makes wearable fitness devices,  raised over Rs 45 crore from Bennett Coleman and Company (BCCL). Also, in September, Gurugram-based Jogo Technologies, which runs fitness and health app Fitso, raised $1.5 million. In August, the Mumbai-based online fitness discovery platform Fitternity raised $1 million from consumer-focused venture fund Sixth Sense Ventures and other investors.

Rainmatter Capital recently invested $300,000 in a seed funding round in Quicko Infosoft, which provides online taxation services. Rainmatter Capital invested in four startups in 2019, including content platform Finception and commodities procurement platform Procol.