Fitbit, a US-based company which makes digital fitness tracking devices, has raised $43m in funding according to a regulatory filing, led by new strategic investor SoftBank Capital, the strategic investment affiliate of Japan-based telecommunications, internet and media conglomerate SoftBank Group, together with the participation of SAP Ventures, the growth stage investment firm affiliated with Germany-based software company SAP, and Qualcomm Ventures, the corporate venture division of US-based semiconductor and telecoms equipment company Qualcomm; existing venture capital investors Foundry Group and True Ventures also participated.
The funding will be used to release new products and drive growth.
Previously, FitBit raised $12m series C funds in January 2012, $9m series B funds in September 2010, and $2m series A funds in October 2008.
Competitors to FitBit’s fitness tracking devices include the Nike Fuelband, the Jawbone Up, the Withings Pulse (Withings recently raised $30m in July) and the Misfit Shine. In the wider fitness sector, recent VC investments include $18m raised in August by free calorie-tracking platform MyFitnessPal, and $4m raised by FitStar in June, from investors including Google.