Peloton Acquires Three AI and Digital Fitness Startups

Need to Know

• The fitness brand recently added voice AI company Aiqudo to its portfolio, after acquiring Atlas Wearables and Otari, an interactive workout mat producer, last year.
• The deals give Peloton the ability to build new hardware and services that expand on its current bikes and treadmills, as well as its software services
• Peloton paid a total of $78.1 million in cash for three companies during the final quarter of 2020; that sum included intellectual property from Peerfit, a digital health company, and not Aiqudo.
• Though the acquisitions were made in 2020, confirmations of the moves are only now surfacing.

Analysis

Peloton has completed the purchase of Aiqudo, a voice AI company, just months after purchasing Atlas Wearables and Otari.

The three acquisitions position Peloton to expand on its existing roster of exercise devices, as well as to produce new software services, particularly with Aiqudo, whose main product is an AI-powered digital voice assistant that allows developers to add voice actions to apps and devices. Peloton would be able to leverage this technology for its bikes and treadmills, which provide on-demand workouts via a built-in tablet device.

With Otari, meanwhile, Peloton will acquire the designs for that company’s Otari Mat, which shut down after a successful crowdfunding campaign in December of last year. The Otari Mat was designed to have an HD screen placed on a yoga mat, with a detachable arm extending from the monitor that held an AI-enabled camera to analyze form and capture workout activity. Peloton has not indicated whether it plans to manufacture or sell the Otari Mat.

Atlas Wearables, which Peloton acquired in 2020, produces a wearable smart device called the Multi Trainer. The device, which is worn like a watch, logs workout data, such as distance run and reps performed, as well as performance information such as muscle fatigue and and “psychological readiness.”

According to Bloomberg, the engineers joining Peloton from Atlas Wearables and Otari say on their LinkedIn profiles that they are focusing on AI and computer-vision technology.

In a recent interview, Peloton CEO John Foley said the company will be releasing a number of new products in the coming months, citing a rowing machine and a strength training device as “good guesses” as to what the company is developing.

The acquisitions are just the latest in a series of purchases from Peloton, as the brand seeks to expand its capacities as a hardware and software developer. The company paid $78.1 million for three companies during the final quarter of 2020, which did not include Aiqudo, but did include the acquisition of intellectual property from Peerfit, a digital health company. In December, Peloton also reported plans to buy Precor, a fitness equipment provider, for $420 million; and, in 2019, the company purchased Gossamer Engineering, a Silicon Valley firm that has helped design devices for Google and Facebook.

Peloton’s acquisitions come on the heels of a hugely successful year for the company, which saw Fitness Subscriptions—which are subscriptions accessed via Peloton’s devices—increase by 137%, hitting 1.33 million users. The company also outperformed financial expectations with its fiscal Q1 2021 earnings, hitting $757.9 million in revenue over the period, marking a year-over-year increase of 232%. In May, the company hosted its largest-ever online class. Amid its successes, Peloton also struggled to meet demand for its Bike+ device, and as a result underperformed on fulfillment and delivery goals. CEO John Foley chalked these delays up to the unexpected rise in demand during the spike in COVID-19 cases in 2020. Peloton recently made substantial investments in its supply chain to increase production capacity, in order to reduce wait times for its equipment.