EQT Growth Invests in Gympass: Championing Global Work-Life Wellness
EQT Growth is proud to have led the $85m Series F funding round in Gympass, the globally leading employee wellness platform. This marks EQT Growth’s first investment in a US headquartered company
In recent years, and especially since the covid-19 pandemic and the rise of remote working, corporate wellness has taken center stage in C-level conversations, as the line between home and office has blurred. The importance of physical and mental health has a compelling and growing body of evidence and employers have a clear role to play. For example, studies show that 83% of employees consider wellbeing to be as important as salary and 77% would consider leaving a job that didn’t prioritize wellbeing.
At EQT, we have been investing in both healthcare and technology companies for three decades. We have also backed countless mission-driven entrepreneurs who are forging new ways of democratizing access to previously scarce resources, like Vinted, in second-hand fashion, and Epidemic Sound, in music content. Gympass is at the intersection of both these massive sectors and our collective experience, enabling better and cheaper access to health & wellness options.
Gympass, which currently operates in 11 countries, is the globally leading employee wellness platform with by far the most extensive hub for employees. It works by enabling employees to access hundreds of activities (>50k on the platform globally!), through an employer backed subscription. From zumba to indoor cycling to virtual training, employees can choose activities whenever and wherever is convenient for them, and at a lower price than going direct to a single provider. To date, the company has powered more than 250 million check-ins across the globe, totalling more than 7.5 billion minutes of employee wellbeing!
Through Gympass’ platform, Employers are able to provide a high engagement benefit that helps them retain happier and healthier employees. Companies that partner with Gympass not only report a >40% improvement in employee retention rates but also see up to a 25% reduction in annual employee healthcare costs.
For wellness & fitness provider partners, Gympass is a hassle-free way to expand their reach in both user base as well as type of offering (e.g. virtual). Gympass receives extremely high Net Promoter Scores from partners across geographies, sizes and categories.
Gympass has thereby figured out a model where every stakeholder is better off by being connected and the network effects make the whole proposition better. As a result, Gympass is able to achieve a truly powerful outcome: most of its subscribers have never had access to a fitness or wellness membership before, meaning they are actually growing the market of active people globally.
And then there is the outstanding Gympass team. Across many touchpoints with EQT over several years, we have watched the Gympass team outperform and positively surprise. Originally founded in Brazil in 2012, Gympass has become one of the few Latam tech companies to take its innovation global. And then, in 2020, despite the enormous challenges that the pandemic threw their way, this team was tenacious once again, hustling in short weeks to mobilize their large technology team to provide their partners with a way to service their customers virtually, as well as partnering with new virtual partners, so their users could stay active. The company’s revenues actually grew from 2019 to 2021! The Gympass team has the sort of unbendable will, work ethic and creativity that is rarely seen but is the secret sauce behind building category-defining businesses.
EQT Growth is thrilled to support Gympass on the exciting next leg of its growth journey as it continues to deepen its network and global leadership. We are eager to apply our global network across our network of offices in other 20 countries to assist in accelerating Gympass’ growth, as well as drawing on our digital expertise and value-creation playbook to support the Company in both organic and inorganic growth.
We are excited for what lies ahead and look forward to working closely with Gympass, its CEO and co-founder, Cesar Carvalho, and the stellar management team in building a healthier, happier, and more productive corporate world.
To continue following our journey with Gympass, follow us here and on LinkedIn.
