Magenta Partners leads $6 million round for indoor cycling Motosumo

Copen­ha­gen, Denmark — London-based SME growth inves­tor Magenta Part­ners today announ­ced that it has led a major Series A funding round for Moto­sumo, a fast-growing at-home indoor cycling plat­form that offers live inter­ac­tive clas­ses from any bike. Magenta led the finan­cing round with parti­ci­pa­tion from exis­ting investors.

Tom Matthews, mana­ging part­ner of Magenta, says their exten­sive evalua­tion iden­ti­fied Moto­sumo as a unique offe­ring in a crow­ded market. “Our team of experts has reviewed nume­rous soft­ware and hard­ware plat­forms in the Connec­ted Fitness space over the past 18 months. We believe Moto­sumo is an outstan­ding offe­ring capa­ble of leading the evolu­tion in the home fitness market. It is the only plat­form of its kind that is hard­ware agno­stic, which opens up signi­fi­cant growth oppor­tu­ni­ties across geogra­phies,” said Matthews, whose team at Magenta has an exten­sive back­ground in fitness, inclu­ding previous invest­ments in LA Fitness, The Gym Group, Pure Gym and Viva Gym.

Moto­sumo, a Danish fit-tech company foun­ded in 2015, offers a global program of live indoor cycling clas­ses with world-class instruc­tors. Motosumo’s inno­va­tive tech­no­logy means users can join the plat­form from home, with any bike and a cell phone or tablet. Even the simp­lest setup can be connec­ted to enjoy a fully inter­ac­tive class.

With subscrip­ti­ons start­ing at just $12.99 per month, Moto­sumo offers an afforda­ble alter­na­tive to the many expen­sive play­ers in the market that require consu­mers to purchase equip­ment and wait weeks for deli­very to get started.

“Imme­diate access, an inter­ac­tive expe­ri­ence and global reach are important factors for growth, and Moto­sumo has all three,” says Moto­sumo co-foun­­der and CEO Kres­ten Juel Jensen. “Our plat­form works with any bike, so users don’t have to invest in new equip­ment and can access a work­out imme­dia­tely. Moto­sumo cour­ses include inter­ac­tive games with live fitness metrics, and our trai­ners inter­act with parti­ci­pants in real time. We are exci­ted about the part­ner­ship with Magenta. Their invest­ment and stra­te­gic vision and support will help drive our expe­ri­ence and expansion.”

“Even before the COVID pande­mic, consu­mer demand for home exer­cise opti­ons was growing. The past year has drasti­cally chan­ged the land­scape of the fitness indus­try. Connec­ted fitness at home has become a major bene­fi­ci­ary, and Moto­sumo was alre­ady ahead of the curve and uniquely posi­tio­ned to drive rapid adop­tion of our home exer­cise solu­tion,” said Juel Jensen.

This round of Series A funding will allow Moto­sumo to double the number of its trai­ners on four conti­nents (Europe, North America, Asia and Austra­lia), expand its tech­ni­cal team and signi­fi­cantly increase its marke­ting efforts. Magenta typi­cally invests between GBP5 million and GBP20 million in each oppor­tu­nity. Your invest­ment in Moto­sumo is the first step in a possi­ble long-term, working partnership.

Magenta Mana­ging Part­ner Chase Emson alre­ady makes Moto­sumo clas­ses part of his daily work­out at home, “Moto­sumo is a fanta­stic expe­ri­ence. It is the only real live and inter­ac­tive offer for those who have an indoor bike at home. Having taken some of the clas­ses, I can say from perso­nal expe­ri­ence that Moto­sumo is fun and enter­tai­ning — and I’m most exci­ted about the results I’m getting from my trai­ning,” Emson said.

Inves­tors in Moto­sumo from previous rounds include Danish venture capi­tal fund Prom­en­tum Equity Part­ners and PreSeed Ventures, one of Denmark’s largest inno­va­tion incubators.

About Moto­sumo

Moto­sumo is a live inter­ac­tive plat­form for home cycling cour­ses that works with any statio­nary bike. The company was foun­ded by a Danish team of engi­neers and astro­phy­si­cists who harnes­sed the power of smart­phone motion sensors to gene­rate live fitness metrics, such as cadence, on each bike. They deve­lo­ped an app to make a fun, inter­ac­tive work­out and commu­nity expe­ri­ence acces­si­ble to almost anyone. Early on, Moto­sumo became a popu­lar main­stay in gyms and fitness centers. In response to the growing demand for at-home work­out opti­ons, Moto­sumo has evol­ved the plat­form for indi­vi­dual users and part­ne­red with a network of world-class trai­ners to create a global offe­ring of daily live clas­ses. For just $12.99 per month, anyone can enjoy the same intense, inter­ac­tive fitness expe­ri­ence at home. To turn any bike into a world-class work­out expe­ri­ence, visit www.motosumo.com.

About Magenta Partners

Magenta Part­ners LLP is a UK-based private equity advi­sory firm foun­ded in 2008, specia­li­zing in entre­pre­­neur-led growth invest­ments. Since its incep­tion, Magenta has inves­ted in consu­­mer-focu­­sed compa­nies such as Pure Gym, JoJo Maman Bebe, Maker&Son and North Ameri­can Guitar Company. A criti­cal element of Magenta’s invest­ment style is the ability to work with manage­ment teams to achieve alignment around a common goal. Magenta funds are backed by successful entre­pre­neurs, and the manage­ment team itself brings expe­ri­ence in running and growing successful venture-backed compa­nies. www.magentapartners.com

Prom­en­tum Equity Partners

Prom­en­tum Equity Part­ners is a Danish private equity fund estab­lished in 2016 as a colla­bo­ra­tion between Prom­en­tum Capi­tal and Alter­na­tive Equity Part­ners. www.promentumequity.dk

PreSeed Ventures

For more than two deca­des, PreSeed Ventures has scou­ted, mento­red and funded Danish success stories such as Vivino, Trust­pi­lot and Lunar. www.preseedventures.dk