Tencent leads round for China's VC-backed Keep

The investment extends a $32 million Series C round led by GGV Capital and Morningside Venture Capital earlier this year, with participation by existing investors Bertelsmann Asia Investment. Other investors in the company include Ventech China, which contributed to a Series A round in 2015.

Since launching in February last year, Keep has attracted 50 million registered users for its fitness programs, according to a statement. This content has recently expanded to include specialized stretching and yoga services as well as about 200 training videos. The platform also offers tutorials from professional athletes, data recording functions and access to equipment and health food shopping channels.

The company has established partnerships with sports brands including Adidas and Puma as well as hardware companies DJI, Mo Smart Scale and Misfit Wearables, which raised a $40 million Series C round in 2014 with participation from GGV. Keep is expected to use the latest capital raise to support branding and awareness efforts as well as improvements in content and user experience.

Investment in internet-enabled health and wellness services has been supported by fast growth in the wearables market, which is expected to be worth $19 billion globally by 2018, according to Statista. This represents more than 10 times the market's value in 2013. Recent Asian activity in this space includes a $12 million round led by Venturra Capital for Malaysia's Kfit and a $50 million investment led by Focus Media FountainVest Sports for China's Codoon.

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• Topics
• Greater China
• Consumer
• Technology
• Early-stage
• China
• Tencent
• Venture
• TMT