SAN FRANCISCO — Future, the service that is looking to bring digital fitness coaching mainstream, has raised $75 million in Series C funding, bringing its total funding to date to more than $110 million.
Future has a personal training app that connects members with an ongoing fitness coach through the Apple Watch to build personalized workout programs and communicate daily to keep you on track.
The round was led by SC.Holdings and Trustbridge Partners, with participation from existing investor Kleiner Perkins; actress and Fabletics co-founder Kate Hudson; Kate’s brother Oliver Hudson; five-time Pro Bowler J.J. Watt; four-time golf major champion Rory McIlroy and Symphony Ventures; NBA All-Star Kevin Durant and Rich Kleiman’s Thirty Five Ventures; Optum Ventures; Endeavor; and Harris Blitzer Entertainment, owner of the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils.
This new round of capital will allow Future to accelerate its marketing efforts and product development, expand into other categories of health coaching, and surpass $100 million annual recurring revenue by early 2023. Future will continue growing its team of full-time fitness trainers, which is one of the largest of its kind in the world, with a majority of coaches having previously trained professional athletes or Olympians. Uniquely, members of Future have unlimited access to their coach, trading an average of four text messages per day – 1,500 per year. This constant support and guidance has helped Future garner a best-in-class Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 90.
As part of the funding round, Future also announced that it will partner with investors Kate and Oliver Hudson – who created and host the podcast Sibling Revelry – to produce, co-host and distribute a six-episode series for Future across major podcast platforms. Future, Kate and Oliver will act as producers of the podcast.
Kate Hudson says, “Fitness and wellness have been passions of mine for years and are at the heart of everything I’m doing with my businesses. This relationship is a natural extension for me and for what Oliver and I have built with Sibling Revelry.” Oliver Hudson added, “We really believe that an ongoing fitness coach can keep you consistent and build a regimen that works for your life.”
“Quality coaching and consistency are the two major keys to success when it comes to fitness. The day has finally come where professional athletes aren’t the only ones with access to quality coaching,” said J.J. Watt, new investor and advisor to CEO Rishi Mandal.
The $149-per-month service matches each member with a world-class fitness coach who creates interactive workout programs using the Future app, tracks the member’s progress via an Apple Watch and communicates daily via text message to keep them on track. Future’s coaches manage each member’s fitness across all of their fitness activities, at home or on-the-go, building a regimen that can incorporate a wide mix of at-home equipment, outdoor activities, gyms, group fitness classes and more.
Future was co-founded by Google and NASA alum Rishi Mandal, and former Apple engineer Justin Santamaria, who led engineering on FaceTime and iMessage.
“Future puts a real human expert into your life every single day, who takes care of the planning and accountability that keeps you consistently active,” said Rishi Mandal, CEO of Future. “The average American only talks to their doctor maybe three or four times each year, but the average Future member talks to an expert four times every day. This is the highest-touch consumer health product on the planet, and we plan to expand our coaching beyond fitness, into more domains.”
