FitnessKeeper, the Boston-based startup known for its RunKeeper mobile app, is announcing today that it has pulled in a $10 million funding round, led by new investor Spark Capital, with participation from existing investor O’Reilly AlphaTech Ventures (OATV) and new investor Revolution Ventures. The money will go towards helping the company, whose RunKeeper app tracks users’ running speed and mileage count, tackle consumer health and fitness data more broadly.
Earlier this year, FitnessKeeper developed an application programming interface (API) called the Health Graph, where other wellness-focused applications can plug into the RunKeeper platform, enabling consumers to map the data on and interaction of things like running, weight gain or loss, calorie consumption, and sleep. The platform is also used by companies powering corporate wellness programs and fitness competitions.
“The early success of the Health Graph has showed us that the world is ready for someone to step up and build a consumer health platform that ties together all of this disparate health information across categories,” said founder and CEO Jason Jacobs in an e-mail discussing the deal. That platform will be an extension of the Health Graph, and the new funding will go towards product and community development. FitnessKeeper now has 14 employees, but that headcount should surpass 40 by the end of 2012, Jacobs told Xconomy. The company is crammed into its same South End offices for now, but it will likely move into new space to accommodate the team growth, said Jacobs.
Announcing funding in November has been a tradition for FitnessKeeper the last few years. Last November it raised a $1.1 million financing from OATV and existing investors LaunchCapital, Will Herman, Dave Balter, and Don McLagan. The November before, it announced a $400,000 seed financing.
The RunKeeper app, which previously cost around $10 for a premium version, was made completely free last year. The company offers a yearly subscription and more expanded services for $20 per year. It will be interesting to see how the company’s business model evolves, as Jacobs said the big focus with the Health Graph right now “is not on monetization, but rather on improving the core product, building the largest, most engaged userbase possible, and continuing to expand the universe of apps/devices that integrate via our Health Graph API.”
