Peloton is having a moment. So are its competitors

Despite its hefty sticker price, Peloton’s near-religious following has only multiplied during a pandemic that has shuttered workout classes and bankrupt gyms. 

Now hopeful competitors are cycling in—and could veer into Peloton’s dollars.

Tempo, an at-home weights training startup backed by Founders Fund, DCM, and Khosla Ventures, is raising some $60 million in funding valuing the company at roughly $200 million to $300 million, sources tell Term Sheet. The deal, said to be led by two investors, however, has yet to close.

Weights alone are not an expensive buy: Pop on Amazon and a pair of 20-pound rubber dumbbells currently costs about $60. But Tempo is pitching consumers on a more gym-like experience—just at home: Think on-demand classes playing on a large screen and motion sensors that determine whether an exercise is correctly executed. For that, Tempo’s system retails in the quadruple digits. While Peloton’s stationary bike sells for about $2,245 Tempo’s system costs $1,995.

Consumers are showing willingness to splurge on larger fitness-related buys as the coronavirus rages on. Hydrow, an at-home rowing startup that retails its machines at $2,199, says sales at the company have risen 400% in April compared to January. The company recently raised $25 million in funding with L Catterton leading the round. Hydrow is most certainly not a biking machine, but its CEO told Term Sheet that it is going straight up against Peloton. 

“I think there will be four or five winners,” said Hydrow CEO Bruce Smith of the at-home fitness space. “We think about it like Microsoft and Apple—or Adidas and Nike.”

Indeed with a price of about $2,199 on Hydrow, and Peloton’s apparently fastest growing demographic earning below $75,000 per household, one machine per house may perhaps become the de facto. 

So what is Peloton’s move? While best known for its stationary bikes, the company has also moved into selling treadmills and standalone classes that don’t require equipment. Peloton is also not resting on its laurels when it comes to competitors. It’s issued lawsuits against what it considers biking copycats from Echelon and Flywheel. One source tells Term Sheet that Peloton approached Tempo in recent months, voicing interest in acquiring the company. Tempo, though, the source said, was not interested in selling. But the workout world has seen fads come and go (where were HIIT classes 10 years ago?)—so is an acquisition next somewhere?

“We don’t comment on rumors or speculation and we have no acquisitions to announce,” a Peloton spokesperson told Term Sheet. Tempo did not respond to requests for comment. 

When asked, Smith said that Hydrow too has fielded inbound inquiries about an acquisition, though he declined to name specific parties.

Lucinda Shen
Twitter: @shenlucinda
Email: [email protected]

VENTURE DEALS

- QuantumScape, a San Jose, Calif.-based solid-state battery developer, raised $200 million. Volkswagen led the round. Read more.

- Geek+, a Beijing-based maker of robotics for logistics, raised $200 million in  Series C funding. Done in two tranches, GGV Capital D1 Capital Partners, and V Fund led the rounds and were joined by investors including Warburg Pincus, Redview Capital, and Vertex Ventures. Read more.

- UiPath Inc., a New York-based software maker, is in talks to raise funding that could value it at more than $10 billion, per Bloomberg citing sources. Funds including Sequoia, Coatue, Kleiner Perkins, and Accel back the firm.Read more.

- Contentful, a San Francisco and Berlin-based API content management platform, raised $80 million in Series E funding. Sapphire Ventures led the round and was joined by investors including General Catalyst and Salesforce Ventures.

- Zerto, a Boston-based IT recovery platform, raised $33 million in funding. Investors included Claltech, 83North, Battery Ventures, Harmony Partners, IVP, RTP Ventures, U.S. Venture Partners, and new investors Poalim Capital Markets and Bank Hapoalim.

- Zero Mass Water, a Scottsdale, Ariz.-based company seeking to make drinking water renewable, raised  $50 million in Series C1 funding. BlackRock led the round and was joined by investors including Duke Energy, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, and Material Impact Fund.

- Upgrade, a San Francisco-based neobank, raised $40 million in Series D funding. Santander InnoVentures led the round.

- Degreed, a Pleasanton, Ca.-based employee learning platform, raised $32 million in funding. Owl Ventures led the round. 

- Zerto, a Boston-based IT recovery platform, raised $33 million in funding. Investors included Claltech, 83North, Battery Ventures, Harmony Partners, IVP, RTP Ventures, U.S. Venture Partners, and new investors Poalim Capital Markets and Bank Hapoalim.

- Copado, a Chicago-based DevOps platform for Salesforce, raised $26 million in Series B funding. Insight Partners led the round and was joined by investors including Salesforce Ventures, Lead Edge Capital, ISAI Cap Venture, and Perpetual Investors. 

- Botkeeper, a Boston-based bookkeeping company, raised $25 million in Series B funding. Point72 Ventures led the round and was joined by investors including High Alpha Capital, Republic Labs, Oakridge, Peak State as well as existing investors Ignition Partners, Greycroft Partners, Gradient Ventures, and Sorenson Capital. 

- MayStreet, a New York -based market data infrastructure platform, raised $21 million in Series A funding. Credit Suisse Asset Management's NEXT Investors led the round.

- Remessa Online, a Brazilian money transfer service, raised $20 million in funding. Kaszek Ventures and Accel Partners invested. Read more.

- Urbint, a New York-based maker of artificial intelligence for utility safety and field risk management, raised $20 million in Series B funding. Energy Impact Partners and Piva co-led the round and were joined by investors including Salesforce Ventures and National Grid Partners.

- Splyt, a London-based mobility app integration company, raised $19.5 million in funding. SoftBank led the round. Read more.

- Biz Capital, a Rio de Janeiro-based online lender, raised $12 million in Series B funding. DEG led the round and was joined by investors including MELI Fund, Quona Capital, Monashees, Chromo Invest, and 42K Investments. 

- Jupiter, a San Francisco-based  grocery delivery startup, raised $2.8 million in seed funding. NFX and Khosla Ventures co-led the round.

- Perimeter 81, a Tel Aviv, Israel-based secure access startup, raised $5.5 million in extended Series A funding. Toba Capital led the extension.

- Back Technologies a Berlin-based employee service platform, raised $3.3 million in seed funding. La Famiglia led the round, and was joined by investors including Gradient Ventures.

- DocASAP, a Herndon, Va.-based engagement platform for health systems, raised an undisclosed amount of funding. Optum Ventures led the round.

PRIVATE EQUITY

- Credit Suisse Asset Management’s NEXT Investors merged LUX Fund Technology and Solutions, an enterprise data management and reporting platform, and NorthPoint, an investment management solution, to form Portfolio BI. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

- iCapital Network, backed by the likes of Blackstone and Carlyle, agreed to acquire the alternative investments feeder fund platform from Wells Fargo’s (NYSE: WFC) Global Alternative Investments (GAI) division. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

- Trinity Hunt Partners acquired a majority stake in Keste, a Dallas, Texas-based B2B digital transformation service. Financial terms weren't disclosed. 

- Clairvest Group invested in Arrowhead Environmental Partners, a Uniontown, Ala.-based waste management company. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

OTHERS

- Reliance Industries is nearing a deal to acquire stakes in some units of Future Group, an Indian e-commerce operator partnered with Amazon, per Bloomberg. Read more.

- Bridgepoint agreed to buy EQT Partners’ credit business, Reuters reports citing sources. Read more.

- Saudi Aramco completed a deal to buy a 70% stake in Saudi Basic Industries Corp., a Saudi Chemicals firm,  for around $70 billion from Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund. Read more.

IPOs

- Yes Bank, an Indian bank, plans to raise 80 billion rupees ($1 billion) in a IPO, per Bloomberg citing sources. State Bank of India and HDFC back the firm. Read more.

EXITS

- Idinvest Partners sold a portfolio of investments in 12 growth companies to Idinvest Growth Secondary SLP,  a consortium of acquirers led by Pantheon and including Commonfund.  It included: Deezer, a audio streaming service based in France; Forsee Power, a smart battery system in France; and Sightcall, a video cloud platform in San Francisco. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

- KKR agreed to acquire Roompot, a Dutch vacation park operator, from PAI Partners. Financial terms weren't disclosed. Read more.

F+FS

- FTV Capital, a growth equity investment firm, raised $1.2 billion for FTV VI. 

- Menlo Ventures Management plans to raise between $450 million to $500 million for its 15th flagship fund. Read more.

- Square Peg Capital, an Australia-based venture firm, raised A$350 million ($242 million) for its latest early stage fund. Read more.

- Fly Ventures, an early stage European seed investor, raised €53 million for its second seed stage fund. 

PEOPLE

- Hearst Ventures named Jacqueline Cegla as senior associate and promoted Kunal Mehta to principal.

- NewView Capital added Christina Fa and Nick Bunick joined as associates from Atomico and Qatalyst Partners, respectively . Ankit Sud was promoted to principal.

- Cultivian Sandbox promoted Amanda Donohue-Hansen to managing director.