SoftBank leads $360m series F round for Tencent-backed fitness app Keep

Keep’s developer Beijing Calories Technology said that the series F round also saw participation from Hillhouse Capital and Tencent, along with Coatue Management, GGV Capital, Bertelsmann Asia Investments, 5Y Capital, and Jeneration Capital.

The latest investment pushed the company’s valuation to about US$2 billion. Keep is also reportedly considering going public as soon as this year, according to sources familiar with the matter. However, the fitness startup told Bloomberg that it has no IPO plans for now.

Launched in 2014, Keep offers its users exercise sessions and instructions. It also develops its own fitness equipment and sells health snacks. It has about 300 million registered users, with an average of 38 million monthly active users, according to the report.

In May last year, the firm achieved a US$1 billion valuation after it had raised US$80 million in its series E funding round that was led by Hong Kong-based tech investment firm Jeneration Capital Management.

The fitness industry in China had been expected to exceed 73.8 billion yuan (US$11.3 billion) last year, increasing from 50.32 billion yuan (US$7.7 billion) in 2018, according to Statista.

Currency converted from Chinese yuan to US dollar: US$1 = 6.49 yuan.