Sequoia-CMC sports fund backs China’s Supermonkey

Financial terms were not disclosed but local media reported the investment amounted to several hundred million renminbi. Existing investors Fosun RZ Capital, Arena Capital and Ventech China all re-upped.

Supermonkey started in Shenzhen in 2014 with a self-service pop-up gym facility and it has since expanded to include fully-staffed permanent studios as well. Each gym features traditional fitness equipment such as treadmills, rowing machines, and weights. Users can book equipment via WeChat and access gyms with a password. There are no annual membership fees.

Supermonkey also offers nearly 100 training classes from cycling to boxing to yoga. It currently has 30 stores - both pop-up and permanent facilities - in Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen, serving more than 250,000 users.

Fosun and Arena provided a Series A round for the company, while Ventech China led an RMB50 million ($7.6 million) Series B round earlier this year. With the new funding, Supermonkey plans to expand into cities like Guangzhou, Chengdu, Nanjing, and Hangzhou, with a view to operating 100 directly-owned gyms by 2018.  

Jiansheng Sports Fund was formed in March and targets global sports assets from events to entertainment properties. It previously led a Series A round for Wanmingyang Media, which organizes and video streams kickboxing events in China.

 

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• Topics
• Greater China
• Consumer
• Expansion
• Technology
• China
• TMT
• Sequoia Capital
• China Media Capital
• Growth capital