[Funding alert] Fitness startup TREAD raises $1.1 M from Better Capital, Kunal Shah, Gaurav Munjal, and more

Bengaluru-based online fitness startup TREAD Fitness has raised $1.1 million in its Pre-Seed round from a clutch of angel investors and VC firms. Investors participating in the round included Unacademy founders Gaurav Munjal, Roman Saini, and Hemesh Singh; Udaan Co-founder Sujeet Kumar; CRED Founder Kunal Shah; Citrus Pay Founder Amrish Rau; Mobile Premier League founders Sai Srinivas and Shubh Malhotra; Jupiter Founder Jitendra Gupta; and redBus founder Phanindra Sama, among others.

Better Capital, Whiteboard Capital, FirstCheque and Stanford Angel also participated in the round.

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TREAD, which was founded by Dinesh Godara in July 2020, will be using the freshly raised funds to fast-track its product development and accelerate the growth of its business. TREAD is a homegrown fitness startup that aims to advance the 'Fit India' initiative by offering holistic and affordable workouts.

In a statement issued by the startup, Founder and CEO Dinesh said:

"This fundraise gives us the initial capital to rapidly build out our product, our content across social platforms, and to onboard thousands of professional trainers from across the country. Our immediate goal is to launch an immersive and gamified experience for users to choose their workouts and make consistent progress on their fitness goals."

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TREAD has also built a fitness community on its social media channels. It has 1.1 million subscribers on YouTube, and another five lakh plus followers on Instagram. The fitness startup is also in talks with multiple VC firms to raise its Series A round of funding.

"In this post-COVID-19 world, people are cautious about social distancing and are hesitant to head back to the gyms and fitness centres. Workout from home has become a new normal in fitness around the world. TREAD is squarely positioned around this need and is offering the full range of workouts via online sessions with best-of-breed trainers across all categories," Dinesh added.

Trainers and fitness experts from across the country will be able to use TREAD's platform for conducting sessions for all forms of workout — Yoga, HIIT, cardio, strength and conditioning, among others.