China-based online fitness community Keep has secured $80m in series E funding from investors including internet group Tencent and media group Bertelsmann’s Bertelsmann Asia Investments (BAI) vehicle, 36Kr reported today.
Private equity firm Jeneration Capital Management led the round, which also featured venture capital firms GGV Capital and Morningside Venture Capital, according to a WeChat post by GGV. Investment bank Taihecap advised the company on the deal.
Keep’s core business is an app-based fitness community that provides online training programs to some 200 million users.
The company has also branched out into offline ventures including gym equipment such as stationary bikes and treadmills, workout clothing, supplements, wearable fitness trackers and branded gyms under the Keepland name.
The round valued Keep at more than $1bn and lifted its overall funding to $267m since it was founded in 2014. Investment bank Goldman Sachs led its $127m series D round in mid-2018, investing with BAI, Tencent, GGV Capital and Morningside Venture Capital.
Keep had raised an undisclosed sum in a series C-plus round led by Tencent in August 2016, three months after Morningside Ventures and existing investor GGV Capital co-led a $32m series C that also featured BAI. Its early backers include Ventech China and BW Ventures, according to DealStreetAsia.
