Global Fitness and Health Startups Raised $3.6B in H1 2026, Up One-Third Year-Over-Year - Crunchbase Report
A new report from business information platform Crunchbase indicates that global fitness and health startups raised over $3.6 billion in the first half of 2026, up about one-third from the same period last year.
Above: Global funding for fitness and health startups since 2020
Above: Mega-rounds in global fitness and health in H1 this year (sorted by funding amount)
Several mega-deals occurred in the first half of this year, topped by wearable device company WHOOP's $575 million Series G round in March, at a valuation of $10.1 billion. The round was led by Collaborative Fund, with participation from numerous investors, including 2PointZero Group, Qatar Investment Authority, Mubadala Investment Company, Abbott, Mayo Clinic, Macquarie Capital, and others. Celebrities such as soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo, NBA star LeBron James, and golf star Rory McIlroy also participated in the round. (View related reading on Orange Bay Sports)
In the hardware space, more compelling products will need to leverage AI to turn data into personalized guidance, thereby improving overall health and fitness.
New York-based sleep technology company Eight Sleep completed a $50 million Series D round in March. (View related reading on Orange Bay Sports)
Above: Eight Sleep sleep system
India-based metabolic health wearable maker Ultrahuman secured a Series C round equivalent to approximately $44 million in February.
Above: Ultrahuman's smart ring Ring PRO
New Delhi-based Temple completed a $54 million seed round in February this year to develop a wearable device focused on brain health and performance metrics. The company says its technology can track cerebral blood flow and uses a proprietary measurement called "Entropy" to quantify users' real-time energy expenditure.
Blood glucose monitoring also attracted investor attention. Wearable glucose monitoring device company Signos completed a $20 million funding round earlier this year, with investors including Google Ventures and Dexcom. The company's devices are FDA-cleared.
Endurance events and in-person races also drew investment.
Event organization platform Xenom, which positions itself as the "decathlon of fitness," completed a $15 million seed round led by WndrCo, founded by former DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg.
According to UK's Sky News, LVMH-backed private equity fund L Catterton is in exclusive talks for an equity investment in fitness event brand Hyrox, with a deal that could value Hyrox at up to approximately $1 billion. (View related reading on Orange Bay Sports)
The report predicts that investors will continue to focus on companies applying AI to health and wellness, particularly in niches such as longevity, mental health, sleep, and athletic performance. Meanwhile, hardware makers serving as the "data collection layer" for AI-driven health platforms may receive more funding support.
However, investors will not return en masse to the high-priced large home fitness equipment market, unless these hardware products are backed by strong recurring software services, data value, or healthcare capabilities.
The health and fitness industry may also see more exit cases, with companies merging capabilities through M&A or private equity-led consolidation. Additionally, strategic acquisitions of smaller companies by established players may increase—such as fitness tracking platform Strava's acquisition of running training app Runna last year, and Garmin's recent acquisition of endurance training platform TrainingPeaks. (View related reading on Orange Bay Sports)
Crunchbase expects that the health and fitness industry will not see a large-scale IPO boom, with perhaps only a few standout companies as exceptions. According to the platform's predictive analytics tool, potential IPO candidates in fitness and health include: Whoop and its competitor (wearable health tracker maker Oura), mental health platform Spring Health, and Fountain Life, which operates a network of clinics and focuses on "AI-driven longevity and preventive health services."
| Source: Report original text
| Image source: Report original text, company websites