Liteboxer, the Peloton for boxing, has announced the close of a $20 million Series A funding round led by Nimble Ventures. B. Riley Venture Capital participated, alongside existing investors Raptor Group and Will Ventures.
Liteboxer launched publicly to the world in July of 2020, announcing an in-home device that brings gamification, hit music and a touch of entertainment to a boxing workout. The patented hardware includes a system of lights that smartly pair with music to give the user an intense workout that feels more like a game. Hit where the light goes off, on beat with the music, until your ass has sufficiently been kicked.
Content is a big piece of the puzzle with Liteboxer. For $29/month, users get access to unlimited training sessions and workouts led by Liteboxer trainers. The Liteboxer also has a Quick Play option that forgoes the trainer content and lets users workout based on the song they choose.
This comes by way of an exclusive partnership with Universal Music. Liteboxer always has a rotation of 100 Universal Music songs available to users, and the system is able to automatically pair the lighting with the beat of the music for lighter-weight workouts.
Not only are users competing with themselves, but they also can connect with other friends to compete against one another.
Engagement is the name of the game for Liteboxer, according to co-founders Jeff Morin (CEO) and Todd Dagres (chairman). They say that since shipping equipment in October, they’re seeing users, on average, doing a Liteboxer workout four to five times a week.
Since launch, the company has made some tweaks. For one, the original focus on the trainer side was on the technique of boxing. But given the importance of music to the workouts, Liteboxer has realized the impact that an entertaining trainer can have.
“Rhythm has been so important,” said Morin. “We’ve learned that you can’t train rhythm if someone doesn’t have that. We’ve seen trainers with more spin class experience be able to feel the cadence of the music, and know when the beat drop is coming, and craft these programs that are basically an art piece or performance.”
The company is also looking at its employment of these trainers, shifting from 1099 to part-time employment and seriously considering full-time W2 employment for them, as well.
This latest round of funding is meant to fuel growth and power initiatives aimed at getting the device out in the wild so more people can see and experience it. The co-founders explained that this was one of the big challenges of launching during the pandemic with a product like this.
This brings the company’s total funding to $28.5 million.
