Tonal announced $250 million in new funding, valuing the business at $1.6 billion. This brings Tonal’s total funding to over $450 million.
The oversubscribed Series E round is led by Dragoneer with participation by Cobalt Capital, new athlete investors, and existing investors, including L Catterton and Sapphire Ventures. This capital will allow Tonal to accelerate marketing and content initiatives while scaling the business and operations by investing in people, logistics, and manufacturing to meet its strong demand more quickly.
Tonal said its sales grew more than eight times in 2020 amid strong member engagement and retention rates. Tonal also recently announced a nationwide partnership with Nordstrom across 40 locations, expanding its retail footprint to 60 points of distribution. With more than 90 percent market share in the connected strength training segment and a Net Promoter Score consistently above 80, said the brand, Tonal looks to continue to broaden its lead in the category.
“Our growth over the last year underscores the changing fitness landscape. People want smarter, more connected ways to work out,” said Aly Orady, CEO, Tonal. “With this new capital, we will continue to demonstrate how intelligent fitness will fundamentally change the way people train and maintain their health. We plan to use this funding to further our investments in product and content and scale our operations so that we can get more Tonals to more people faster.”
“The past year has shown us what the future of fitness looks like — connected, personalized, and content-driven, all within the comfort and convenience of your home — and Tonal is an important force driving this trend,” said Jared Middleman, partner at Dragoneer. “Its sophisticated hardware and engaging content provide a superior workout experience that has created immense customer love, and the product experience continues to improve at an incredible pace thanks to Aly and the team’s inspiring vision and relentless execution. We are thrilled to support them as they enter this exciting next phase of growth and seek to revolutionize at-home fitness for consumers across the country.”
Professional athletes have always been core to Tonal’s DNA, and with this round, it continues to add to its growing roster of more than 30 athlete investors with new investments from Drew Brees, Larry Fitzgerald, Maria Sharapova, Mike Tyson, and Sue Bird.
“Since retiring from tennis, Tonal has become a major part of my fitness routine especially spending more time at home this year, as we all have,” said Maria Sharapova. “As an investor, I’ve always been drawn to companies that are developing a new approach to their category, and Tonal’s focus on A.I. and technology brings added accountability and a unique sense of motivation that I haven’t yet seen in the space. I’m excited by the opportunity to help shape that vision for the future of fitness with Aly and the Tonal team.”
In addition to increased staffing across the organization, Tonal has recently made several key executive hires, including:
- Shannon Crespin, COO, a former Johnson & Johnson executive, Crespin will be responsible for leading Tonal through scaling and achieving operational excellence;
- Gregory de Gunzburg, Chief Strategy Officer, former head of corporate strategy and development for NBC Universal, where he led the launch of Peacock. De Gunzburg will oversee Tonal’s strategic operations and business development functions.
- Bryan James, Chief Technology Officer, with more than two decades of leadership experience at Google, Nest, Apple and TiVo, James will lead Tonal’s software and hardware engineering organizations.
Tonal also recently welcomed Nina Richardson and Jack Lazar to its Board of Directors. Both Richardson and Lazar bring extensive operating experience with consumer hardware and software businesses and public company board experience.
Photo courtesy Tonal