ShapeUp announced it raised $7.5 million in new funding, including $5 million of equity from venture capital firms Cue Ball Capital and Excel Venture Management, and $2.5 million of debt from Silicon Valley Bank.
The proceeds will be used to fund strategic investments in mobile technology and global capabilities to drive member engagement and expand platform accessibility.
“ShapeUp is a proven company with a stellar team and a product that continues to lead the next generation of corporate wellness offerings,” said Tony Tjan, chairman of the board of directors at ShapeUp and managing partner of Cue Ball Capital. “This investment underscores our belief that there is incredible opportunity ahead for this company in the rapidly growing social and mobile wellness space.”
ShapeUp will use a significant portion of the investment to build upon its existing mobile capabilities and launch the industry’s leading mobile app and device integration infrastructure. This focus will help fill a major market gap by organizing and connecting the hundreds of different wellness-related mobile apps and devices now being used by consumers into a single, engaging and effective corporate wellness platform. The company is also integrating with smartphone technology including GPS, accelerometers, co-processors such as Apple’s new M7, and companion smart watches to empower employees to track their fitness, share their progress with others, and receive personalized feedback throughout their daily routine. ShapeUp projects that the majority of participants will access its platform primarily through mobile devices by 2015.
“No one in the corporate wellness space has effectively harnessed the power of mobile technology, but that’s about to change,” said Dr. Rajiv Kumar, founder and CEO of ShapeUp. “Adopting lessons from our research in the direct-to-consumer space, we’re going to bring mobile wellness innovation to our hundreds of enterprise customers and their employees.”
ShapeUp will also increase investment in its global wellness offering. The company currently serves the needs of multinational corporations by offering its platform in 23 languages, mastering the logistics of shipping fitness devices to any country, and providing 24/7 translated phone and email technical support to participants around the world. ShapeUp plans to further its offerings by adding global marketing expertise, regional health content, and enhanced localization tools.
ShapeUp, which offers a comprehensive software-as-a-service (SaaS) wellness platform to meet the needs of employers and health plans, had previously raised $9 million in funding since its inception. The company, an early pioneer of evidence-based social wellness programs, counts nearly ten percent of the Fortune 500 among its customers. ShapeUp reached profitability in 2013 and currently has 75 employees. The company expects to double its workforce and open satellite offices in Boston, New York and San Francisco in the next 24 months.
ShapeUp is a global provider of clinically proven, social networking and incentives-based employee wellness programs that help people exercise more, eat healthier and improve their overall well-being.